AP reporter apologizes for tweeting Dennis Allen is fired

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 28, 2014, 11:16 PM EDT
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An Associated Press reporter created a stir on Sunday evening by writing on Twitter that Raiders coach Dennis Allen had been fired. Then the reporter deleted his tweet without explanation. Now the reporter has apologized.

Terry Collins, who identifies himself on Twitter as “Veteran award-winning journalist,” initially tweeted that Allen is already fired and that an announcement could come as soon as Tuesday. Collins does not have a history of breaking news in the NFL, and no other reporter had confirmed the report, so there were immediately questions about it. Soon Collins had deleted his tweet, and later Collins tweeted an apology saying that what he had previously called a report from sources were just unconfirmed “rumors.”

[tweet https://twitter.com/APtcollins/status/516422190636736512%5D

Allen is on the hot seat after his Raiders lost to the Dolphins today, dropping to 0-4. It wouldn’t be surprising if Allen really does get fired this week, with the Raiders on their bye.

But that firing hasn’t happened yet.

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62 responses to “AP reporter apologizes for tweeting Dennis Allen is fired”

  4. Timely apologies are nice, if only everybody could be that quick to admit a mistake then there would be a lot less drama in the world. Great tweet after the lousy one that preceded it!

  7. Shefter was the first to retweet it. ESPN’s president was quoted as saying he likes this guys moxie.

  8. Well he should be. Get rid of this incompetent loser and fire Tarver and Reggie McKenzie as well. 10 straight losses, are you kidding me? The Raider Nation does not accept this, we fire you.

  13. Dennis Allen did not deserve to come back for this year. His decision making is such that I sometimes wonder if he is a plant from DEN.

    Fire him now Mark Davis.

  14. Sadly, in the age of twitter and social media, first to report is more important than getting the facts right. Its pathetic what passes for journalism and reporting these days…

  16. Despite whatever arguments you can make for how tough Dennis Allen has had it, at some point you have to start winning games. He’s 0-10 in his last ten games. I think Chris Davis has been pretty patient, but come on.

  22. “But that firing hasn’t happened yet”.

    So the journalist jumped the gun. Unless your some remote tribe in the Amazon avoiding human contact and Direct TV, everyone knows Dennis Allen will be the first coach fired this season; its simply a matter of time, and, unfortunately the week the Raiders are going into a bye seems to be timely enough.

  29. Diehard Raiders fan here. I had high hopes for this roster. I’ve been pulling for DA to right the ship, but let’s get this over with so the team can move on without this distraction looming in the wake of what seems to be another 4 win max season.

  31. I can now confirm that Allen has indeed been fired.

    The Raiders will be holding a noon press conference tomorrow to introduce their next head coach, Brady Hoke.

  35. I don’t know why people think he’s gonna be fired. Besides a Super Bowl winning coach Dennis Allen Job is the most secure in the league.the GM is behind him 110%.

  37. Locker room talk is that he will be fired. Replacement already on staff and did have title of Assistant Head Coach. He will be head coach during bye week. Davis should clean house he created this disaster when he fired Hue Jackson, and forced Amy Task to quit. If Allen remains head coach all locker room respect ( if any is left) will be gone.

  40. Every three years, the Raiders’ head coach gets fired. It’s the way the world works. No surprise here. The only suspense left is who the interim coach will be.

  45. There is a report out of Jacksonville that the Jaguars are practicing against cardboard cut outs this week to get a feel for the speed of the Steelers defense.

  47. Firing Allen at this point won’t yield any positives except placating some vocal segments of the fanbase (such as the ones who demanded that the Raiders start a rookie QB right away rather than properly developing him more slowly).

    Who would replace Allen now? Sparano is a proven failure as a HC (from his time in Miami). Olson and Tarver aren’t very good coordinators. Might as well let Allen finish out the season and in that way the Raiders can say that he was given 3 full years to succeed but couldn’t….so in this way the good potential HCs will know that the position isn’t the revolving-door it was in Al Davis’ last years.

    At the end of the season, get rid of BOTH Allen and McKenzie. McKenzie has the most blame in my book for the Raiders’ despair because with the exception of the 2014 draft (and that could be ruined by starting Carr too soon), his personnel moves have been disastrous. Hire a GM who has a track record of success and earned respect in a previous GM gig and let him bring in the new HC.

  52. That was not very smart, although maybe it will happen. The dolphins cremated the Raiders yesterday, they were terrible. How come they played the Patriots fairly well?? That reporter should be “sat down” for doing that, it’s was rather poor reporting.

  53. At least AP has had the good sense not to have other AP reporters throw up softball “investigation” questions and have an ombudsman pronounce this to be his finest moment,

  58. – People, Dennis Allen is a great offensive coordinator, see Denver.. With that being said, and I think you will all agree, for the better part of a decade the raiders have lacked composure, discipline and more importantly talent.

    Let’s not kid ourselves, if you think the hiring of Dennis Allen, McKenzie and adding some over the hill talent was going to get you to win the division, your sadly mistaken. Talent wise, you can’t compete with the Chargers or the Broncos so how in the world do you blame all the team’s sorrow on one man. This coming from a Bronco fan. While I enjoy watching the circus that is the Raiders, stay classy Oakland and keep looking up to the stars.

  59. The Raiders are run just like the guy playing air hockey who keeps trying these silly moves trying to fool his opponent but ultimately he bumps the puck and it goes into his own goal.No team is as inept and dysfunctional as the Raiders. And the best part is the fans still think they’re somehow relevant!Theres no conspiracy against the raiders they use it as an excuse for their failures as a franchise.

  61. – Just throwing in another head coach is like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. The issue is deeply embedded in the organization, the hierarchy from ownership on down. Anything less than a complete and utter upheaval won’t stop the damage that’s been done over the past decade.

  62. The Raiders front office continues to be the laughing stock of the NFL. You let your coach continue through the year. What’s the point of firing him now? You think you’ll find an interim that will lead you to a 10-2 record? You think you can make the playoffs this year? Stupid.

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