ALAMEDA — Before the Raiders officially entered their bye week, Jon Gruden wanted to make something clear:
It’s not his fault.
Yes, the Raiders are 1-5, coming off of back-to-back losses that would have put any other coach for any other organization on the hot seat. And yes, the Raiders are the laughingstock of the NFL, seemingly getting worse by the week.
And while Gruden has complete control of everything that happens with the Raiders when it comes to football — the way he sees it, this team’s play shouldn’t reflect on him.
In a bizarre and, at times, downright sad press conference Tuesday, Gruden bemoaned the team’s state of injuries, confused criticism for “hatred”, threw a player (or two, or three) under the bus, and declared emphatically that his team is not “tanking anything”.