Saints Lead Reduced Field of “Hard Knocks” Candidates

One of the most anticipated events of the NFL preseason is the return of Hard Knocks, HBO’s acclaimed documentary series that follows one NFL team through the highs and lows of crafting a final roster in the lead up to opening weekend. This year, the New Orleans Saints are being pegged as frontrunners to star in season eleven, whether they like it or not.

The field of candidates for the show has been thinned to seven, and by “candidates,” we mean “teams that aren’t allowed to say ‘no.’” The Saints join the Bills, Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, Chargers and Rams as possible options.

Those seven choices are the only ones that meet the show’s three entry criteria. The chosen team must have failed to make the playoffs in each of the preceding two seasons, have a head coach who has been in that position for at least one full season, and must not have appeared on Hard Knocks within the last ten calendar years.

Of those choices, the Saints seem the most tantalising, boasting a still-elite quarterback, a massively respected head coach and a defense desperate to get younger, faster and more threatening in a hurry. Wrap all that up in the alluring backdrop of the Big Easy, with its distinctive districts, phenomenal food and non-stop party atmosphere, and you’ve got a gumbo recipe for success.

Once the laughing stock of the NFL, fans of the Drew Brees-era Saints have come to expect a certain level of success from their team, and many are still licking their wounds after a(nother) historically bad defensive season in 2015. Gone is their larger-than-life defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. His role will now be played by former Raiders head coach Dennis Allen.

Head coach Sean Payton remains resistant to the idea, as all head coaches would be. He is reportedly heavily against allowing cameras into his office when informing players they have been cut. Those conversations have made for the most candid moments in the show’s history, showing us who players really are in the face of crushing defeat.

How much creative control Payton has over decisions like that is not entirely clear, but he might find himself having to make some compromises very soon.