Among the topics addressed by Jets G.M. Mike Tannenbaum on Thursday’s PFT Live was the question of whether the Jets indeed turned down an offer to appear on Hard Knocks, a joint venture between HBO and NFL Films.
Tannebaum said that the Jets haven’t turned it down, because the Jets haven’t been asked to do it. "[I]t has not been offered to us so right now we’re on the sidelines, and we don’t know who’s going to be asked at the end of the day,” Tannenbaum said. “But what I can say, Mike, is NFL Films, HBO Sports, they all did a great job. It was a great experience for us, it was good for our organization. I think those organizations are real pros and it was a good experience for us.”
Tannenbaum didn’t say whether the Jets would accept the offer, if an offer were to come. “I know there’s been speculation out there, so it was a great experience for us two years ago and, as we’ve said if that was something that ever came down the pipe again we would consider it but that’s not where we’re at as of right now.”
Last Friday, Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News reported that the Jets would not appear on Hard Knocks this year, without specifying whether it wouldn’t be offered, whether it was offered and the Jets had declined, or whether it wasn’t offered because HBO and NFL Films knew the Jets would decline it. An HBO spokesman declined comment to Raissman on whether the Jets had been scratched, explaining that “[w]e still have time to decide . . . [a]nd we, and our NFL Films partners, haven’t made any decisions yet.”
It’s hard to imagine HBO and NFL Films not wanting the Jets. With Tim Tebow in town, the Jets would be even more intriguing than they were in 2010. Tebow’s mainstream appeal would make the show appointment viewing, not only for NFL fans but for the many who find Tebow and his overall story compelling.