There wasn’t much of an effort made to keep the identity of this year’s Hard Knocks team a secret and there won’t be any need to keep up even a limited smokescreen about HBO and NFL Films’ partner for this season.
The Buccaneers were officially named this year’s participant on Wednesday and held a press conference to discuss the 12th season of the show. Matt Dissinger of NFL Films said, via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, that the Bucs have a “young, charismatic roster” that makes them a good fit for the show, which will premiere on August 8.
It will be the second time that Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter will be involved with the show. He was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons in 2014 -- Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith was Atlanta’s head coach at the time -- and shared something he learned about the experience.
“I like watching the show. I wish I wasn’t on it,” Koetter said.
Koetter’s vote didn’t lead to another team getting picked, but he added that he thinks the team will be fine with the increased attention and won’t be distracted by the cameras that will be documenting their work at training camp.