"I haven't gotten any calls on that."
At this point, the future of HBO’s offseason Hard Knocks series seems murky at best.
But if there are any teams considering participating in the series, they have yet to consult with New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen, who proved to be the star of its inaugural season — albeit, for all the wrong reasons.
“I haven’t gotten any calls on that. I think I know what I would tell them,” Schoen told reporters with a smirk during the NFL Draft Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
Presumably, Schoen’s advice would be some version of “don’t do it” or “if you do do it, make sure you exercise your final cut say liberally.” That’s because the signature storyline throughout last year’s Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants was the team’s attempt — or lack thereof — to re-sign Saquon Barkley, who was set to enter free agency.
While the show even featured Schoen’s phone calls with Barkley — something the star running back was apparently unaware of — the most memorable scene featured the GM discussing the negotiations with Giants owner John Mara. As it became increasingly clear that New York wasn’t going to be able to meet the Penn State product’s asking price, Mara let it be known that he was going to “have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia.”
You’ll never guess what happened next.
The scene became so famous that it was even the inspiration for a sleeping aid commercial featuring Barkley just one month before he and the Eagles won Super Bowl LIV. It’s also resulted in plenty of skepticism regarding whether any team will volunteer to participate in the offseason version of Hard Knocks moving forward, with NFL franchises wary they’ll be similarly embarrassed.
But should any NFL team opt to participate, it sounds like Schoen would be more than willing to take their call. And if there’s anyone who’s more aware of which landmines to avoid while being featured on the series, it’s the Giants GM, who many were surprised was able to keep his job after his team went 3-14 following his viral starring role.
