Raiders on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks.’
There are “Hard Knocks” and there are knockout blows.
Sports journalist Don Banks, a universally respected and beloved authority on the NFL, died in his sleep Sunday morning at age 57. He had been attending induction weekend at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. His passing rocked his friends, colleagues and readers.
He had just recently been hired as a football writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The newspaper issued a statement:
“Words can’t express the depth of sadness the ReviewJournal staff feels for Don’s family and friends. Beyond a sportswriting institution, Don was a dedicated husband and father and a class act. No NFL journalist commanded more respect. The sport has lost one of its finest storytellers.”
As it happened, Banks filed a story to the Review-Journal on Saturday. Having just visited the training camp of the Cleveland Browns, last summer’s “Hard Knocks” subject, Banks wrote a story previewing what is in store for the Raiders who bear the “Hard
Knocks” scrutiny this year.
“‘Hard Knocks’ is only going to affect you if you let it affect you,” new Browns coach Freddie Kitchens, a first-year Cleveland assistant in 2018 told Banks, and by extension, the Raiders. “The people at NFL Films, those folks are great to work with. But people have a hard time making sure those cameras don’t affect them. Because they see the cameras everywhere. So sometimes you don’t always get the truth. You get coaches and players playing up to the camera instead of just the truth.
“If you’re truly asking the players to be all about the team, I would say ‘Hard Knocks’ makes it very difficult to do. Because those cameras are always looking for someone to make a star out of.’’
Hue Jackson, former Raiders head coach, was the Browns coach last summer. He was fired midway through the season, having compiled a 3-36-1 mark with Cleveland.
Per Banks: “The thing I don’t like is every time you see (‘Hard Knocks’), the coaches who have been on them, they wind up getting fired,’’ Jackson said. “It’s crazy.’’
Just one year into his 10-year contract with the Raiders, Jon Gruden would seem as secure as any “Hard Knocks” head coach.
But job security isn’t the only the only thing coaches have to worry about. Todd Haley, the Browns’ offensive coordinator last summer, was spotlighted in a meeting engaged in a heated exchange with Kitchens (then the running backs coach). He was fired with Jackson in midseason.
“Jon Gruden’s been a showman on the sidelines, so he loves the camera,’’ Haley told Banks. “But he’s also a football coach, so he’ll be torn. The Raiders doing the ‘Hard Knocks’ thing, that’ll get crazy.’’
“The Raiders have got the right guys for it,” Jackson said. “They’ll do well and hopefully their story will get told better. We were a football team that needed confidence and needed the spotlight because I thought it would force our players to be at their best at all times.
“Sometimes you can overthink that.”
Great stuff, as usual. RIP, Don.