ASHBURN — The Washington Redskins are one of the five finalists for this year’s season of the HBO documentary series “Hard Knocks.” But coach Jay Gruden has another team in mind.
“Really if they were smart, they would go to Oakland,” Gruden told reporters Wednesday.
The Oakland Raiders, of course, are coached by his brother, Jon.
Oakland, along with Detroit, San Francisco and the New York Giants, can also be picked to do the show because they meet the NFL’s criteria for participating.
“I mean seriously, what an entertainment value that would be,” Jay Gruden said. “Antonio Brown. Jon Gruden. Paul Guenther. Vontaze Burfict. [Richie] Incognito — these guys would be crazy not to go to Oakland.
“They could do us next year, maybe.”
A reporter pointed out that if the Redskins make the playoffs, they wouldn’t have to do the show.
Gruden replied with a true zinger.
“If we don’t make the playoffs, I probably won’t be here anyway,” Gruden said, breaking out in laughter. “They can do what they want.”
According to oddsmakers, the Redskins are the favorite to land on the series.
“Hard Knocks” follows one team through training camp and the preseason over five episodes. In previous years, HBO has named the team selected for the show by now, so this year’s announcement could come at any time.
The first episode usually airs within the first week of August. Redskins training camp opens July 25.
The show is intriguing for fans, but teams typically are against taking part because of the depth of information the camera crews and microphones can reveal.
In 2016, former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan said the Redskins would “never” do the program as long as Dan Snyder owned the team.
Teams can become exempt from the program in one of three ways: making the playoffs in either the last two seasons, having a first-year head coach, or appearing on the show in the last 10 years.
If they don’t meet those standards, the NFL can force a team to participate. That’s why the Redskins remain a real possibility for the program.
When Gruden was in Cincinnati in 2013, the Bengals were the focus of that year’s “Hard Knocks,” so the coach would have some familiarity with the experience, if the Redskins are chosen. That year, the Bengals ranked 10th in yards per game (368.2) and finished 11-5.
“Well that’s not up to me, so if we’re forced to do it, obviously, we’ll have to make it work,” Gruden said. “It’s a process. It can be distracting at times. But really, they do an excellent job of keeping out of your business. So, it wouldn’t be the end of the world at the end of the day. Initially, it would be a distraction so to speak.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.