The Cleveland Browns should embrace HBO’s Hard Knocks

The Cleveland Browns are balking about the opportunity to be on HBO’s Hard Knocks. However, an appearance will help clean up their image.

The Cleveland Browns should run, not walk, for the opportunity to be on HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer. The knee-jerk reaction from fans will be to scream “No!” at the possibility. However, if done correctly, an appearance on Hard Knocks could transform the current national and local media narrative about the Browns organization.

The issue of the club appearing on Hard Knocks was raised recently by cleveland.com Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot.

Cabot asked Browns head coach Hue Jackson about the possibility of being on the show and Jackson made his feelings clear:

"“Oh my God, I’m not interested in that,” Jackson said after the South team practice on Thursday. “I’m interested in just coaching our team and getting our team better.”"

Cabot goes on to describe that Jackson is very much against the Browns being featured on the show. She describes Jackson as being so against the idea that he would even lobby not to be on the show.

That may be the correct decision coming from a coaches perspective as the Browns’ coaches do not want to deal with the distractions of being on the show. The nuisance of the cameras following them around, players trying to put themselves into a story line instead of focusing on camp, and the myth of the Hard Knocks curse have coaches and owners shying away from appearing on the show. However, the upside may outweigh the drawbacks.

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The front office, coaching staff and the organization should look at Hard Knocks as an opportunity to reshape the perceived image in the media. Right now, the Browns are the laughingstock of the NFL and are portrayed as a poorly run organization with little hope, even though the reality may be far different.

For example, the media portrays the Browns as having the worst quarterback situation in the league. They prove this point by trotting out a list of Browns starting quarterbacks since 1999. However, the Houston Texans have more different starting quarterbacks (nine) in the past three years than the Browns – including Cleveland cast-offs Brian Hoyer and Brandon Weeden. The Texans also currently have a lot of money wrapped up in colossal bust Brock Osweiler.

A simple review of the facts shows the Browns are in a much better quarterback position. But the narrative remains.

The same can be said for the Browns coaching staff and general manager. Next season, the San Francisco 49ers will be coached by their fourth different head coach in four seasons. The 49ers recently interviewed several people for their general manager position and almost all backed out before they hired John Lynch out of the broadcast booth.

Such moves do not speak well for the stability of the San Francisco franchise, yet the narrative remains that it is the Browns who are poorly run and mismanaged.

Appearing on Hard Knocks will give the media and NFL fans an inside look at just how well the organization is being run. If the Browns truly are all on the same page, then Hard Knocks is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how well the organization is working together. It will also give the media and fans a concrete example of how the culture has changed, and demonstrate the front office and owner’s commitment to winning.

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It would even be an interesting look into how an “analytics” team is operated.

If the team truly is on the right page, an appearance on Hard Knocks could change the current national narrative about the Browns, which is why Jackson should be open to the possibility of having the show focus on the Browns.