The firing of Marc Trestman gets the Bears off the hook in one respect: The NFL can’t “volunteer” them to do “Hard Knocks” next season.
Since most teams and coaches don’t want to have cameras following their every move for HBO’s behind-the-scenes series on training camp, the league came up with criteria allowing it to designate a show candidate if no team steps forward and offers to do it.
A team can be selected for “Hard Knocks” if it hasn’t made the playoffs in the last two years or appeared on the show within the last 10 years. The Bears definitely fit in those categories and would have been a prime “Hard Knocks” candidate had Trestman returned for 2015.
However, a team is exempt from consideration if it has a new coaching staff coming in. That eliminates the Bears.
Among the teams the league can “volunteer” in 2015 are the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.
The Bears figure to be prime candidates for 2016 if they fail to make the playoffs next season.
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