Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden, eager to avoid the scrutiny of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” training camp series, offered a better suggestion Wednesday: Older brother, Jon, the head coach of the drama-filled Oakland Raiders.
“I think really, if they were smart I think they’d go to Oakland,” Jay Gruden said at a press conference.
“I mean, seriously, what an entertainment value that would be — Antonio Brown, Jon Gruden, (defensive coordinator) Paul Guenther, Vontaze Burfict, (Richie) Incognito — I mean, you guys have got to be crazy not to go to Oakland.”
The Redskins and Raiders are two of the five teams who fit the criteria that the NFL and HBO have established for “Hard Knocks” selection: A team is exempt if it has a first-year head coach; has made a playoff appearance in the past two seasons; has been featured on the show in the past 10 years.
The three other eligible teams are the New York Giants, the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.
“They can do us next year maybe,” Jay Gruden said.
A reporter responded; “Not if you make the playoffs.”
Gruden replied with a smile: “Well, if we don’t make the playoffs I probably won’t be here anyways.”
In late March, Raiders owner Mark Davis said he wanted no part of “Hard Knocks.”
“It would be disruptive,” he said at the NFL’s annual meetings in Phoenix. “We’ve got a lot of business to take care of, get ready for the season. I appreciate that they might think we’d be great TV, but we got something to accomplish.”
HBO is expected to announce a decision soon.
Lions coach Matt Patricia, also eager to deflect attention from his team, is another coach on record as saying the Raiders would be a great pick for the series.
“If we’re forced to do it, then obviously we’ll have to make it work,” Jay Gruden said.
“You know, it’s a process that can be distracting at times, but, really they do an excellent job as far as keeping out of your business. So, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I think our guys would probably have fun with it at the end of the day.”
