"People learn on the job. They grow up on the job. They evolve. … I hope for the sake of the Saints organization and Saints fans that Dennis learned and grew and grew up as well."
—@AmyTrask on Saints naming Dennis Allen their next head coach pic.twitter.com/voHZkNIS0Z
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) February 8, 2022
There aren’t many executives who lasted longer with one team than Amy Trask. The former Raiders chief executive officer was promoted to the job after working in Al Davis’ front office for ten years, and she held the title for the next 16 years — resigning on May 11, 2013, midway through Dennis Allen’s run as head coach of the black and silver.
Now an analyst for CBS Sports, Trask shared her take on news of Allen being named Sean Payton’s successor with the New Orleans Saints. And it’s a bit of an eyebrow-raiser.
“Let me be very, very clear and straightforward about this: people learn on the job. They grow up on the job. They evolve, they learn from mistakes, they can get better,” Trask said during a Tuesday interview. “I hope for the sake of the Saints organization and Saints fans that Dennis learned and grew and grew up as well. I was not surprised by the hire, but I was surprised — is that a saying, like ‘funny, but not funny?'”
Trask took care not to spill the beans on any specific experience or incident with Allen, but it’s clear that there isn’t much fondness there. Hired as the Raiders’ coach in 2012, following just one year as a defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos, Allen was overwhelmed in the role and ended his run with an 8-28 record. He was fired after an 0-4 start to the 2014 season.
Now nearly a decade older and significantly wiser, Allen has had plenty of time to look back on his mistakes with the Raiders and mull over choices he would have made differently. He’s worked as Sean Payton’s right hand man for the last few years and has seen firsthand how a future Hall of Fame head coach has conducted himself. As Trask said herself, hopefully he learned a lot. But it’s still curious that news of Allen’s big promotion drew such a lukewarm reaction.
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