League spokesman Greg Aiello once told PFT that the NFL is the “ultimate reality show.” The Scouting Combine could take another big step toward that literal reality by bringing a camera into the room when teams interview players in Indy.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones floated the possibility moments ago during an appearance with Rich Eisen and Mike Mayock on NFL Network. Eisen added that an unnamed head coach said Friday night that said unnamed head coach wouldn’t object to televising the interviews.
Mayock correctly observed that other coaches would. Jones pointed out, in tactful terms, that in the end what the coaches like or don’t like won’t matter.
But it definitely would change the dynamics if teams know that their approach to interviewing players in Indy will be broadcast to the other 31 franchises. And the sessions could end up becoming largely worthless if the folks asking the questions hold back for strategic reasons, or to avoid the embarrassment arising from say, asking about the chosen profession of a player’s mother.
Still, the strategic objectives of the teams could take a back seat to the strategic objectives of a league-owned network that continues to try to reach the profile that was envisioned when it launched nearly a decade ago.