MovieChat Forums > Hard Knocks (2001) Discussion > Need a Season covering the 49ers and.......

Need a Season covering the 49ers and......


All the other teams for that matter

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I don't disagree with you, I think San Fran would be a great team to watch this season. However, the 49ers were exempt from participating this year for two out of the three reasons that allow a team to opt out of the running.

Since 2013, when the owners passed the rule, there are three ways a team can avoid mandatory inclusion in the show's selection process:

1) They have a first-year head coach in place.
2) They have a playoff berth in the past two seasons.
3) They have appeared on Hard Knocks in the past 10 years.

In other words SF satisfied the first two of these criteria as this is Jim Tomsula's first year as head coach AND they not only made the playoffs in 2013, they lost in the NFC championship game to the eventual SB Champion Seahawks.

In most circumstances, teams do not wish to participate and that is why the rules were put in place. 1) they cut teams slack that have a new head coach because that first year of establishing the new relationships, system, schemes, staff, etc. is so vital to bouncing back after having to make a HC change. 2) it is in the best interest of recent playoff teams and the NFL not to mess with the rhythm of a potentially successful, playoff team. 3) is just having paid your dues.

Anyways, there are a lot of intriguing story lines out there in the league and it would be fun to see a lot of the successful teams each year. But there are in fact stipulations behind the selection process; I couldn't tell if you were of them from your post?

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