Vikings Can't Be Forced Into "Hard Knocks" Life

As the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, new Minnesota Vikings' head coach Mike Zimmer made his way into a lot of people's homes via the HBO show Hard Knocks, a series that follows an NFL team through Training Camp as they prepare for the upcoming season. So, after hearing that, a lot of people put two and two together and said, "Dude, the Vikings should totally be on Hard Knocks, because that would be awesome!"

Well, the Vikings might still be on Hard Knocks. . .but, there's a pretty good chance that they won't, and the NFL can't make them.

Per the folks over at Deadspin, after the league had a heck of a time finding a team for the most recent season of the show, there was a rule passed that the league could force a team to be on the show if they couldn't get a volunteer. The league can force a team to take part in Hard Knocks, unless they meet any of the following criteria:

-They have a new head coach
-They have made the playoffs in either of the past two years
-They have been on the show in the last ten years

The Vikings meet the first two criteria on that list, so if the NFL can't find a willing participant for the show, the Vikings can't be forced into doing it. The teams that can be forced into doing it are the following group:

Chicago Bears
Buffalo Bills
Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants
Jacksonville Jaguars
Oakland Raiders
St. Louis Rams
Pittsburgh Steelers

As I said, the Vikings can still volunteer to be on the show, but I'm not sure if I'd bet on that happening.