At least one team wants to be on Hard Knocks.
A day after the news came out that the Texans have passed on appearing on HBO this summer, joining the Jets, Redskins, 49ers and Falcons in turning down Hard Knocks, the Florida Times-Union reports that the Jaguars are still open to it and could be the choice by process of elimination.
HBO would likely prefer just about any other team to Jacksonville, which doesn’t have a big fan base and doesn’t have a particularly compelling cast of characters heading into training camp. A Maurice Jones-Drew contract dispute could make for an interesting storyline, and there are questions about whether new coach Mike Mularkey will stand by his vow to start Blaine Gabbert over Chad Henne, but this year’s Jaguars don’t appear to be anywhere near as entertaining a Hard Knocks choice as the 2010 Jets, who were the gold standard for turning the training camp reality show into must-see TV.
I’ve wondered why any team would be willing to go on the show, which could serve as a training camp distraction, but the Jaguars would do it because they’ll take any attention they can get. And HBO might be reaching the point where it’s the Jaguars or no one.