Can the Detroit Lions avoid the Hard Knocks’ curse?

The Detroit Lions are one of five NFL teams eligible for the fourteenth season of HBO’s Hard Knocks docuseries. Will they suffer the same fate as teams before them?

Picture your second NFL training camp as a head coach. Now picture a video camera, and its adjoining HBO television crew, following you into team meetings, practice sessions and other private moments that could be used as crucial intel for opposing teams.

For some viewers, it’s an entertaining glimpse into the often secretive world of an NFL team’s preparation for an upcoming season. For the Detroit Lions, it’s an “honor” that they would like to avoid.

The NFL and HBO’s Hard Knocks program will record its fourteenth season this summer when teams reconvene for training camp. Currently, to be eligible for the show, a team cannot have a head coach in his first year in the position, must have missed the playoffs in at least one of the last two seasons and cannot have appeared on the show over the past ten seasons. The Lions meet the criteria.

Make no mistake about it though, they would be glad to see another team get the call, and with good reason. It’s hard to imagine the Lions, under intense scrutiny and pressure to show progress in head coach Matt Patricia’s second season with the team, welcoming in an omnipresent camera crew with open arms.

At the team’s annual summit with season ticket holders this past week, which included general manager Bob Quinn, Patricia responded to a question regarding their potential appearance on the show with a not-so-veiled deflection, via the Detroit Free Press:

"“I think Jon Gruden is an excellent choice for that show,” Patricia said. “I think the Oakland Raiders and everything they‘ve got going on right now would be fantastic viewing for everybody to watch.”"

It’s no surprise that the Lions’ head coach isn’t over the moon about their potential inclusion in the show. Of the 13 teams that have participated, only five have made the playoffs in the subsequent season and they have a combined winning percentage of only .471 in those campaigns. That’s hardly the type of result the Lions are hoping for in the second season of the Quinn/Patricia regime.

Patricia’s not-so-subtle suggestion that the Raiders would be a better choice for the show isn’t far fetched. They are playing their last season in the Bay Area before their scheduled move to Las Vegas in 2020. They are homeless right now, in the process of searching for a playing venue for the 2019 season. They have a fiery, instantly recognizable head coach in Jon Gruden a who will be working with rookie general manager and longtime friend Mike Mayock.

In addition, the Raiders currently have three first round picks in the upcoming draft. The adjustment for rookies to the rigors of an NFL training camp and the lifestyle of a professional football player is also a staple of the show. Should the Raiders keep those picks, the inclusion of three high profile first year players and their training camp experiences could offer potentially irresistible material for the show’s producers.

However, if Detroit is chosen for the show, some Lions fanatics might enjoy getting an in-depth look at their favorite team’s training camp adventures through a different lens. Will it be the Lions? Will it be the Raiders? Another team? We’ll find out in the coming months when the selection is revealed.

Would you like to see the Detroit Lions featured on Hard Knocks? Let us know in the comments section below.