July 29, 2011; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams during the first day of training camp at the New Orleans Saints practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

It’s no secret that the HBO reality series Hard Knocks is one of my favorite shows on TV, and after going a full year without it due to the lockout last season, I was greatly looking forward to the newest edition for the upcoming season. According to sources, however, it looks like the show is having trouble finding a team willing to participate. Pro Football Talk is reporting that HBO has set a deadline of June 1 for finding a team, and that some teams may be hesitant to participate after the bounty scandal in New Orleans and, more specifically, the leaked audio tape of Gregg Williams that ignited the whole investigation.

Teams are concerned that they will find themselves in the same situation if a group is there recording them every step of the way throughout the preseason, and I can’t say I blame them. As much as I love the show, I certainly wouldn’t let an outside film crew to have an all-access pass to my team knowing that Williams and the Saints are in their precarious position for the exact same reason. The article at PFT talks about the partnership between HBO and NFL Films, and how teams have had the option of reviewing episodes before they go an air, but I don’t think that’s the issue. As a coach or executive of a franchise, I would be more concerned about a crew member recording something they shouldn’t and either selling it to the highest bidder or using it to further their career through notoriety. In this media age, it seems almost foolish to give a group of people access to you regardless of whether you have something to hide or not.

I’m not saying that I don’t want the show to come back, but I will say that if HBO can’t find a team I will understand why. The deadline is a week away, so we will know something for sure very soon.

Schottenheimer was the obvious hire here, although it sounds like former Raiders coach Hue Jackson received some heavy consideration. I talked about this earlier in the week, but I feel pretty good about the hire now that it’s a done deal. I have liked him quite a bit since seeing him on Hard Knocks with the Jets, and I think he is going to do good work with Sam Bradford.

As far as the rest of the staff goes, Fisher is still in the process of holding interviews. Now that both coordinators are in place, I would expect the rest of the staff to come together fairly quickly. These lower profile hires are going to be trickling in over the next few weeks, and I will keep everyone updated as they do.

I can’t say this comes as a huge surprise considering the situation we are in with the lockout and missing training camp time, but it still breaks my heart. If Hard Knocks isn’t the best show on TV these days, it is certainly my favorite show at the very least. It’s the kind of thing I look forward to every year, not only because of how riveting it is every week, but because it’s our first real taste of NFL football after several months away from the game. I guess it’s only fitting that in this disaster of an offseason we would lose one of the greatest parts of the offseason, but it’s still a huge bummer.
All I can say is that I hope Hard Knocks is back and better than ever in 2012, because I will eventually get over the lockout costing me this season of the show, but I will never forgive the NFL if the lockout costs me Hard Knocks for good.

In other bad NFL news of the day, apparently the Philadelphia Eagles are interested in bringing in Brett Favre as a backup to Mike Vick. Yeah, I really don’t know what to make of this either. I would be absolutely shocked if Favre played again, but I’d be even more surprised if he did it as a backup. I can’t imagine there’s any chance of this actually happening, but I learned a long time ago to never assume Favre is done.