The product in the National Football League is constantly evolving. More than any other sport, the turnover of playoff teams from one year to the next is pretty profound. Rules change, television partners come and go, the game still grows, by leaps and bounds.

One of the constants, though, for the last quarter century, has been the league’s Hard Knocks television franchise, the league’s annual voyeursitic, five week documentary into one team’s training camp in July and August. It is produced by NFL Films and runs on HBO’s streaming platforms. It’s won numerous awards.

The Houston Texans have been the subject of Hard Knocks once, back in Bill O’Brien’s second season as head coach in 2015. With his sailor mouth and blustery ways, O’Brien was a hit on the series. He may not have been a great head coach (although he wasn’t terrible either), but Bill O’Brien was a phenomenal television character.

Each year, the league has a filter of rules they run all 32 teams through, really just two rules, and if an NFL team checkers just one of the two boxes, then they can say “No” to a league request to be the Hard Knocks team for that summer. 

The rules are simple — if you either (a) have a first year head coach, or (b) been the subject of Hard Knocks in the last eight years, then you can say “no thanks” to the NFL. If you don’t check either of those boxes, the NFL can essentially force you to be the Hard Knocks team. 

This year, the Houston Texans are one of 16 teams who would have to say “Yes” to a Hard Knocks request. Fans and media would love another Houston HK season. Some of the players would love it. Some of the players would hate it. I promise you DeMeco Ryans and especially Nick Caserio want no part of it.

Here are the 16 teams that fall into the Texans’ category:

I don’t think this is a biased statement — the Texans are fairly high up the food chain among those 16 teams, when it comes to the potential for compelling content. I’ll probably power rank the 16 teams in a future article, but for now, here are the four things I would tell the producers if I were pitching the Texans to land on the series: 

4. America is going to love DeMeco Ryans! 

The Texans’ head coach’s energy is infectious, as he screams “GREAT DAY! GREAT DAY!” when the team takes the field at practice. He is a Southern gentleman wrapped in a Tasmanian Devil’s body. Unlike the last Texans head coach on Hard Knocks, I’m not sure if DeMeco Ryans even cusses at all, let alone every third word, like O’Brien. Hell, he probably even makes getting cut a genteel, pleasurable experience! 

3. Hannah McNair is a very, very willing wrestling villain

On the other hand, the Texans’ co-owner, and wife of CEO Cal McNair, is a Tasmanian Devil wrapped in an assassin. Don’t get me wrong, she seems very fun loving, but do not get on her bad side. Just asked Amy Adams Strunk, the owner of the Tennessee Titans, whose team gets repeatedly mocked by Hannah McNair every time the Texans beat them, which has been quite frequently of late.

2. This defense has a bunch of demogorgons cross bred with velociraptors 

The nation already knows about the Texans’ defense as a big picture, elite concept. A summer on Hard Knocks would give the world a chance to experience all of the ingredients in a longer form. The intense passion of Jalen Pitre. The boyish giddiness (combined with an insatiable appetite for blunt force trauma) of Will Anderson. The comedy/ buddy SWARM cop” duo of Kamari Lassiter and Calen Bullock. And much, much more. 

1. C.J. Stroud might be the most intriguing player in the NFL this summer

I made this contention on the air this week at the Super Bowl on Radio Row, and I have not gotten a ton of pushback. When we last saw Stroud, he was ruining his chance at a nine figure pay day with four interceptions in what felt like 13 seconds in New England. Now, the question is “Does Stroud even get a contract extension?” The gateway question to even discussion a contract is “What version of Stroud shows up at camp, the confident rookie from 2023, or the rattled mess of the last playoff game?” Again, THE most intriguing player in camp next year. 

This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.

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