According to Michael Shain of the New York Post, HBO wants to have a team locked down by June 1st for its “Hard Knocks” series. The network has had difficulty this offseason finding cooperative, big market teams to use as the show’s subject.
Various reports have indicated that HBO has been turned down by the Falcons, Broncos, Texans, 49ers, Seahawks, Redskins, Jets, and the Giants. There’s a number of other teams the show would work great with, but all indications are that the search isn’t going well, largely due to the absence of long-time NFL Films president, Steve Sabol, who is currently very ill with brain cancer.
There’s no need to worry about the complete absence of the show just yet, however. The Jacksonville Jaguars have said on multiple occasions that they’d be more than willing to play host to the popular show. HBO would almost certainly prefer to follow a more popular team, but the Jaguars do have a few story lines that could spark interest in the show, most notably, the coming Blaine Gabbert vs. Chad Henne saga.
It’s been nearly two years since “Hard Knocks” last aired. Last year, the show was scrapped as a result of the lockout. There’s money to be made by HBO with the show, and that very fact should ensure its survival, but it’s becoming apparent that teams are as wary as ever of allowing outside cameras to follow their players and coaches as they prepare for another season. We’ll have “Hard Knocks” in 2012. We just have to wait to see what team the show will follow.
