Interim Raiders coach Tony Sparano meets with players (w/video)

ALAMEDA - Oakland Raiders interim coach Tony Sparano met with his players for the first time since replacing the fired Dennis Allen, then sent them off for a four-day weekend.

The Raiders (0-4) held a team meeting Wednesday, a day after Sparano was hired to finish the season. The players then were given the rest of the week off for their bye as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement. They will have their first practice under Sparano next Monday.

The handful of players available in the locker room said Sparano did not get into many details about the philosophy change he talked about Tuesday. But they expected some changes next week and hoped a new coach could provide a needed spark for a team that has lost 10 straight games dating to last season.

“It can actually go either way, but I believe that we have the guys on this team who can turn things around,” right guard Austin Howard said. “Obviously things haven’t gone our way so far. We’ve been anxious to figure out what we can do to change things and how we can get better, so we’re all in this. We’re ready to get things changed right now.”

Howard is one of the players who knows Sparano best, having also spent a year with him on the New York Jets in 2012. Sparano’s presence as offensive line coach in Oakland played a role in Howard signing here as a free agent this offseason.

While the Raiders are excited for the change, the players also took responsibility for the poor start that led to Allen’s firing. After adding playoff-tested veterans Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Maurice Jones-Drew, James Jones, Matt Schaub, Antonio Smith, Donald Penn, Carlos Rogers and Tarell Brown in the offseason, Oakland was looking for improvement after back-to-back four-win seasons.

Instead the Raiders lost their first four games and weren’t even competitive in lopsided losses to Houston and Miami .

“It’s one of the things that you don’t look forward to as a player,” safety Usama Young said. “I take accountability in my actions and in my play on the field. I’m like, ‘dadgum, what about this play right here? I could have fixed this, I could have fixed that.’ Several guys feel the same way. Coaches feel the same way. We could have done better. We could have changed the situation, possibly, but when it’s all said and done, it’s been done. ”