CSN Bay Area

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Raiders owner Mark Davis spoke publicly on Wednesday night in a 1-on-1 interview with San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami. He addressed some topics, and sidestepped several others.

Here’s what we know for sure. He has not discussed an executive role with Mike Holmgren. He did speak with Scott McCloughlan about one, but wouldn’t say if he made an offer.

Most of the conversation centered on his interview with former Raiders coach Mike Shanahan, who had a fractured relationship with his late father, Al Davis.

[RELATED: Sources: Madden sits in on Raiders interview with Shanahan]

“Listen, this is something I learned from my dad – you talk to everybody because you can learn from everybody,” Davis told Kawakami. “Even if you’re not going to hire somebody, if it turns out that way, you can learn from that person, if he’s somebody who has things you can learn from.

I’ve got a quarterback here (in Derek Carr) – if I didn’t go listen to a guy that’s got one of the best offensive minds in football and who has looked at all 16 of our games and can critique our quarterback for us… why wouldn’t I? Of course I’m going to do that. It’s all part of the process. We’re just trying to do what we can to get this right.”

He also discussed John Madden’s presence in the Shanahan interview – CSN Bay Area reported Madden also sat in for a Wednesday afternoon interview with interim head coach Tony Sparano – and the legendary Raiders coach’s role as a resource.

[RELATED: Madden expected to sit in on Sparano interview with Raiders]

“I know my limitations and I’m not an X’s and O’s guy,” Davis said. “So I need somebody who knows X’s and O’s to sit with me and ask all the football questions.

“The other stuff, I can talk about – macro theory, all those things. But when you put the tape on and start looking at football and why did you do this or do that, I want somebody who knows why you did this.”