The Cleveland Browns declined HBO’s request to do Hard Knocks in Cleveland, robbing the world of even more Johnny Manziel coverage.
To be fair to the Browns, they made the decision to decline HBO’s request before the draft, so it’s not like Johnny Football was a deciding factor for either party. The historical plight of the Browns’ organization would have made for fantastic TV already, but the potential of getting to follow Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon around would have been even more entertaining to say the least.
Browns head coach Mike Pettine didn’t want any outside distractions as he tries to get through one year of being Cleveland’s head coach, a challenge in its own right:
“It was for the same reason we didn’t feel super comfortable having a camera in the draft room,” head coach Mike Pettine said. “Let’s get through the first time, let’s get through the first year.”
Although the NFL has stated that teams must comply with HBO’s Hard Knocks, the teams can decline if they meet one of three criteria. Teams can be excused from accommodating HBO if they have a new head coach, have gone to the playoffs in one of the past two seasons or have already done the show within the past ten years.
Considering the Browns’ history, if they don’t want to be on Hard Knocks next year, they’ll probably have to fire their new head coach after one season (again).
