Raiders coaches will lead North team at Senior Bowl

Raiders coach Dennis Allen and his staff will coach the North team in the Senior Bowl. (US Presswire)

Raiders coach Dennis Allen and his staff have accepted an invitation to coach the North team at this year's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., which will give them an up-close look at some of the top prospects for the 2013 NFL Draft.

Workouts begin Jan. 20, and the game is Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. (PT). It will be televised by the NFL Network.

"It's a great opportunity for the Raiders,” Allen said in a statement. “It gives us a chance to get a solid evaluation on these players. We get a better feel on them because we see them in meetings, we work with them in practice, and we can determine whether their personality would fit well in our locker room. It's an opportunity to get an in-depth feel on a lot of those guys."

Four previous Raiders coaches have coached in the Senior Bowl since 1992: Art Shell (1992), Jon Gruden (1999), Norv Turner (2005) and Lane Kiffin (2008).

Lions coach Jim Schwartz and his staff will coach the South team.

"The Senior Bowl is fortunate to have the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders as our coaching staffs this year," Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage said. "Both organizations really wanted to be here and will do a great job of coaching both of our outstanding rosters."

Just as worst goes first in the NFL Draft, Senior Bowl coaching invitations typically go to teams with the worst records, giving them an apparent pre-draft advantage.

Kansas City and Jacksonville finished 2-14, but the Chiefs fired coach Romeo Crennel, and the Jags fired GM Gene Smith, putting coach Mike Mularkey's future with the team in doubt.

The Raiders, Lions and Eagles finished 4-12, but Philadelphia fired coach Andy Reid.