Raiders owner Mark Davis defends Jon Gruden after 1-8 start: 'Jon's going nowhere'

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis defended coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr, criticized the talent level of his roster and assumed blame for the Raiders' 1-8 start in an interview with ESPN on Sunday.

Davis told the network, among other things, that he believes the Raiders' roster consists of "a bunch of free-agent one-year guys that are mercenaries" and "we just don't have the overall talent of a 22-man roster." He said it was his fault that the roster was in poor shape and generally backed Gruden, who signed a 10-year, $100-million contract with the team over the offseason.

"Having Jon Gruden here was the endgame for me," Davis told ESPN. "Jon's going to be the stability here. Jon's going nowhere. That's just the way it is."

Davis went out of his way to defend Carr, explaining that the quarterback's primary targets at the moment — wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Seth Roberts — are "good guys, but they're not putting the fear of God in anybody." He also stood by the team's handling of the Khalil Mack situation, claiming that Mack's contract demands were unrealistic for a team with "all the holes that we had."

"Everybody thinks that Jon's the one who wanted to get rid of him," Davis told ESPN. "Jon wanted him badly. Why wouldn't you want this guy? Reggie wanted him badly. And I wanted him badly, too."

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Mack, who the Raiders drafted fifth overall in 2014, was traded to the Chicago Bears prior to the season-opener and has seven sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception so far this year.

The Raiders are 1-8 after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers, 20-6, on Sunday.

"I always look in the mirror, and the buck stops with me," Davis told ESPN. "Where this team is right now is my fault. We haven't been able to build a 22-man roster. We haven't been able to give this team a chance to win because the reconstruction failed. We failed from 2014 on to have a roster right now."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.