According to various sources, the Falcons have been offered the starring role in the next installment of the HBO reality series Hard Knocks. Both the Falcons and HBO have declined to comment on the reported offer.

There was some discussion about the Jets appearing on Hard Knocks this season, particularly in light of the interest surrounding newly acquired Tim Tebow and the “circus act” that will be the 2012 New York Jets.  Wouldn’t it just make sense for a team that supposedly traded for Tim Tebow to sell jerseys and PSLs to appear on a reality TV show to sell more jerseys and PSLs?

We laugh and joke, but that actually appears to be the mentality of Jets owner Woody Johnson. According to a report from Adam Schein of Fox Sports, it is Woody Johnson, not Rex Ryan, as many insinuated and assumed, that has been pushing for the Jets to appear on the show. Apparently Woody informally “communicated” with the network about the the Jets appearing on this year’s show, saying the team would consider it, though they have not volunteered. (Ya know, because the publicity surrounding  the locker room and the Tebow trade just isn’t enough for one team).  According to sources, the Jets have not officially been offered the opportunity.

Perhaps Ryan’s apprehension about the team participating in Hard Knocks 2.0 was enough of a factor to prohibit HBO from asking the Jets back. Also according to the Fox Sports report, Rex and Johnson are “at odds” about participating in another of Hard Knocks, as Rex wants to focus on football and tone down the outside distractions.

To further complicate matters, in an interview last month, Mike Tannenbaum shared that he too had no interest in a Hard Knocks redux. But in usual Mike Tannenbaum is a bad liar fashion, the GM amended his comments in light of Woody Johnson’s public declarations, saying, if asked,  they would ” sit down and talk about it.”

Hmm. Just so we are clear,  Johnson, who is obviously more interested in publicity and out-headlining the New York Giants than he will ever admit, wants the team to appear on the show. Rex does not and well, Tannenbaum doesn’t know what he wants. The New York Jets, ladies and gentlemen.

The Jets internal (and external) disagreement over participating in Hard Knocks should tell us everything we need to know about the way things are run over there. There is a complete and total lack of cohesion about what the team needs and should do, and in turn, there is inconsistency in the message. And I’m not just talking about the TV show. I’m talking about everything. Super awesome.

Furthermore, this should tell us that it tells that Woody seriously don’t get it. I defended the Tebow trade to a degree, because at the end of the day, the NFL is a business. The trade did and generate publicity, but enough is enough. Its time to start seriously focusing on winning football games, because believe it or not, that’s the kind of attention you should really want.

And lastly, perhaps Rex Ryan has been wrongly perceived as being the mastermind behind every move made to seek attention or grab headlines. No doubt Rex likes the spotlight, particularly when it’s behind the podium after a playoff win, but to suggest that his selfish need for attention is to blame for every bad decision is obviously inaccurate.

I get that that another installment of the Jets on Hard Knocks would be compelling TV, but the Jets owe it to their Super Bowl starved fan to focus on winning on the field, not the back pages. I guess we will see how things shake out, because it’s still unclear who exactly is running things at Florham Park.

In addition to reportedly making an offer to the Falcons, the Denver Broncos were also offered and turned down an opportunity to do the show. We also know that the idea of a 49er-Ravens Harbaugh brothers type season had been discussed, while the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills are interested in appearing.

Quick Hits

• The Jets have announced that Neil Glat, NFL senior VP of corporate development, has been named the team president.  Glat has 15 years of experience in the NFL front office. The Jets last team president, Jay Cross, left after the 2007 season.
• Jerricho Cotchery will return to Pittsburgh in 2012. Reports surfaced that the Jets expressed interest in bringing back the receiver, as did the Steelers. I speculated that Cotchery would return to Pittsburgh prior to the start of free agency, as the Steelers used him effectively down the stretch when the role of Hines Ward lessened. With Hines’ retirement, Cotchery’s return seemed imminent.