Why and how the NFL, HBO selected the Bears as subject of ‘Hard Knocks’

Why and how the NFL, HBO selected the Bears as subject of ‘Hard Knocks’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The NFL, NFL Films and Max announced Thursday that the Bears will be this offseason’s subject of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” documentary, giving viewers insider access to the team’s training camp this summer.

How did they come to this conclusion?

The “Hard Knocks” documentary, which started in 2001, is quite the polarizing chronicle around the NFL. Because HBO is granted such unprecedented access into the subject’s building, it’s become widely scrutinized around the league as a distraction to a team’s training camp.

Even recently, the Bears have made it clear they wish not to be a part of the documentary.

“In terms of being in favor of it, there are some distractions that come along with it,” Poles said on ESPN 1000 on May 4. “But it’s one of those things that you learn in this league is that you adjust and adapt to whatever shows up. If it’s here, we’re rolling with it. If it’s not, we’ll keep it moving.”

“We’re told there is some interest in other teams being on the program and we welcome that interest,” Chairman George McCaskey said at the NFL Owner’s meetings in Orlando in March.

But, because of the general apathy regarding the documentary, the league has criteria in place to force a team into participation based on their qualifications of said criteria.

To force a team to participate, a team must meet these three criteria:

1) The team does not have a new head coach

2) The team has not made the playoffs in the previous two seasons

3) The team hasn’t been on “Hard Knocks” in the past 10 years

Only three teams qualified under the above criteria this offseason: the Broncos, Saints and Bears. The Bears have employed head coach Matt Eberflus for two seasons, they have not made the playoffs since 2020 and this appearance will mark the franchise’s first time on the documentary.

That leads us to why the Bears were ultimately chosen.

Quite simply, the Bears, as a…

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Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2024-05-30 22:22:20

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