This isn’t too big of a surprise, but it’s certainly a relief for New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen — NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reports that the New York Jets anticipate being forced to host HBO’s “Hard Knocks” documentary this summer.
A joint venture between HBO and NFL Films, “Hard Knocks” follows a team through training camp, preseason games, and daunting roster cuts, and many coaches deride it as an unwanted distraction. Allen has voiced his disapproval for the assignment, as has his Jets counterpart Robert Saleh.
But the Jets and Saints are part of a group of teams that can be made to host, along with the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders as teams without first-year head coaches, playoff appearances in the past two years, or a “Hard Knocks” feature in the last decade. After asking around the league for a volunteer, the league office turned its focus back to the Jets as a team with no say in the matter.
And it makes sense for them to be the pick. The Jets play football in one of the nation’s largest media markets (if not the largest) with Super Bowl aspirations in mind after acquiring Aaron Rodgers, the most mercurial and overhyped quarterback of his generation. If nothing else, it should make for compelling reality television.
