Report: Hard Knocks wants the Jets, but the Jets don’t want to be on Hard Knocks

Back in 2010 HBO’s training camp documentary Hard Knocks chronicled the Jets preparing for their season. It was perhaps the most compelling year of the HBO series. Manish Mehta reports that Hard Knocks wants to feature the Jets again, but the feeling is not mutual.

Although I’m told that people putting together the annual docuseries have interest in having the Jets on air, the feeling isn’t mutual. People on One Jets Drive have privately expressed their desire to me to steer clear of the show for myriad reasons.

Translation: Don’t expect the Jets to volunteer for Hard Knocks.

As Mehta notes, the league cannot compel a team to appear on Hard Knocks if it meets one of three pieces of criteria. The Jets fit two of them, having a new coach and having been featured on the series in the last ten years.

This is probably the spot in the article where I’m supposed to talk about staying off the show will allow the Jets to avoid distractions, but it isn’t a very compelling argument. Appearing on Hard Knocks hasn’t prevented teams from having successful seasons. Heck, the Jets had their most successful season since the turn of the century when they were featured on the show. If your team is so fragile that it could be destroyed by having Hard Knocks, you probably weren’t going anywhere anyway.

It would be fun to see behind the scenes action with Sam Darnold, Jamal Adams, and the new characters on the coaching staff. I hope the Jets change their minds.