Feb 1, 2022; Mobile, AL, USA; American head coach Duce Staley of the Detroit Lions (right) talks with Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell (left) during American practice for the 2022 Senior Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Lions are the chosen ones for HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ this year, but it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
The Detroit Lions had two big announcements this week. One, the Motor City will host the 2024 NFL Draft. The Lions will also star in this year’s edition of HBO’s “Hard Knocks”.
The draft will be huge for Detroit, as a showcase event that will bring fans from every NFL city.
But as big as Detroit hosting the draft is, the more immediate news is the Lions being featured on “Hard Knocks.” They will be the first NFC North team featured on the show, due in large part to the league’s criteria that would force a team to have to participate.
It’s not that “Hard Knocks” has never had a team that wound up being bad on its traditional training camp edition. But the Lions have been bad and uninteresting for a long time.
The Detroit Lions are now all-around interesting, and filled with characters
With the arrival of Dan Campbell, the Lions have a quotable head coach (for the right reasons) and seeing him in an unfiltered setting will be awesome. A coaching staff filled with former players (Duce Staley, Aaron Glenn, Antwaan Randle El, Mark Brunell) will be interesting to see too. Combined that with last season’s respectable finish and the actual belief around the league that the Lions are a team on rise, and Allen Park became an easy destination for HBO/NFL Films’ preseason cameras.
Being featured on ‘Hard Knocks’ won’t add to their win total next season, but unlike what some believe, it isn’t a curse either. How the Lions perform next season will be a product of how well they draft and the ability of Campbell and his staff to get his players to pick up where they left off.
The Lions being on “Hard Knocks” will be fun for fans, with a behind the scenes look at how general manager Brad Holmes and Campbell operate and other interesting characters sure to be highlighted (Jamaal Williams? Jason Cabinda?).