It’s no secret that the Oakland Raiders’ mantra of “Commitment to Excellence” hasn’t been the case over the last decade. As the brilliant football mind of the late, great Al Davis rapidly declined, so did the franchise. The mean, nasty, hit ‘em in the mouth Raiders have become a doormat of the AFC West, and a laughing stock around the league.

Wasted draft picks, questionable coaching promotions and salary cap hell have put the Raiders in their current state, a perpetual relying on a ‘rebuild’ year after year.

When Daivs passed, he handed ownership and power of the team to his son Mark, who had no prior coaching, general managing or ownership experience. The younger Davis, eager to prove himself to the rest of the league, hired Reggie McKenzie as the General Manager in charge of turning around an ailing franchise.

Prior to his current tenure as the Raiders GM, McKenzie was part of the Green Bay Packers’ organization. He started as a scout in 1994, and appointed the director of player personnel. Eventually working as the director of football operations for the Packers. Despite having no experience as a GM, Mckenzie was heavily recommended by football minds around the league, including Raider Hall of Fame coach and player John Madden.

In his first year as the GM, McKenzie stressed the fact that he wanted to bring in “his guys.” He promptly fired then-head coach Hue Jackson, who that 2011 season led the Raiders to 8-8, one win away from the playoffs.

Dennis Allen was McKenzie’s handpicked selection for a head coach. Allen was the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, best known for his help in developing outside linebacker Von Miller into the utterly dominant force that he is now.

Like Davis and Mckenzie, Allen had no prior experience at his respective role.

Allen was tasked with producing a winning product out of a depleted talent pool. Oakland didn’t have a first round pick in either 2011 or 2012, as the prior coach traded them away for quarterback Carson Palmer. Paired with the lack of young talent, the Raiders had agreed to multiple lucrative contracts, at the detriment of the team, with veterans who were no longer producing.

With the new regime in Oakland, McKenzie and his staff were eager to turn the roster over, and start eliminating the bad contracts and dead that limited their future draft and free-agent signings.

Though the cap space has since been cleared, the results clearly haven’t changed. Mark Davis emphasized before the 2014 season that this was a make-or-break year for McKenzie and his staff. The playoffs were still clearly out of reach, but Allen told the media, and his superiors that his team would compete.

Unfortunately, this was far from the truth. The Raiders had a poor showing at MetLife stadium on opening day against the New York Jets, then sufferd a blowout loss in the home opener at the hands of the Houston Texans.

It was clear that after just two weeks, Allen’s seat was warming up.

The Raiders did compete, and quite well, against the New England Patriots in week three. But the Patriots have proven through four weeks that they’re not the strong contenders that they’ve been for the last decade.

The last straw came after a complete embarrassment in London, where the Raiders arrived a week before their opponents, the Miami Dolphins, to prepare to represent the franchise positively overseas. The game ended in a 38-14 loss, and the whole team looked, for lack of a better word, awful. Though, this wasn’t the worst loss Allen suffered in his time as head coach, it looked like it.

The team looked sluggish, unmotivated and unprepared.

Just a day later, the Raiders announced that Allen had been fired.

Since being fired Allen has been replaced by Raiders’ offensive line coach, Tony Sparano. Sparano has the credentials the Raiders need, having been the Miami Dolphins head coach with a playoff appearance in 2008.

For the first time in about a decade, the Raiders have a coach with some experience. Sparano has proven that he can lead a locker room of highly talented and strong egotistic men. The Raiders are still very far from a playoff appearance and a winning record, but the 0-4 start didn’t help.

In Sparano’s introductory press conference Sept. 30, he made sure to emphasize that the philosophy of the team will change over the next 12 games. “This team has clearly forgotten how to win,” Sparano said.

The Raiders do have some talented veterans, and promising young players on the roster. But the schemes and opponents have limited their production thus far.

To get one win in their schedule, the Raiders have to improve, which is statistically the hardest in the NFL.

All eyes are cast on the future; Sparano may not be the answer, and McKenzie’s seat will continue to warm if the Raiders don’t show improvement. Drastic changes could be made early in 2015 and though this year looks very daunting, there is hope.

Youngsters like Kahlil Mack, TJ Carrie, Justin Ellis and Gabe Jackson, all 2014 draft picks give the Raiders hope for the future. Maybe, just maybe, Sparano will be the coach that Allen wasn’t.