Titans flagNASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans aren’t on Hard Knocks, again. They were exempt as they have a new head coach, avoiding the preseason behind-the-scenes series on HBO. They and the AFC South are not on “Hard Knocks: In Season.” The league will instead peek in on the AFC North for the final six weeks of the 2024 season. 

And the franchise certainly isn’t raising its hand for a voluntary assignment like “NFL Draft: The Pick Is In,” available on the Roku channel online. Its tagline: "Inside the most dramatic weekend in football. Go behind the scenes of the 2024 NFL Draft with the Bears, Commanders, Cardinals, and Rams in season 2 of NFL Draft: The Pick Is In."

I know some fans would love the exposure, information and insight that would come with the Titans being connected to any of those or anything like them.

But no matter who’s running things for the team, I can’t see the franchise ever wanting to make the trade-off where it could gain some attention in exchange for revealing information it’s always kept behind closed doors. And I completely understand that.

Hard Knocks started in 2001 And the Titans have never volunteered and been chosen or been forced to do it. And there is no reason to believe they've ever volunteered.

In 2013 Roger Goodell said he wanted more teams to be included but three avenues for exemptions were created: a team’s been on it in the last 10 years, a team has a new head coach or a team has been in the playoffs in one of the last two seasons. 

Since then, Tennessee has been exempt in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.

The newer in-season version of Hard Knocks, which is surely even less desirable, featured the Colts, Cardinals and Dolphins before turning to a division format.

Teams have a degree of editorial control regarding what can and can’t be filmed and put on the show. Last year’s team, the Jets, didn’t allow HBO to show players being cut. Those meetings are often a key part of the storylines, the conclusion of an arc for a player who is tracked through camp and doesn’t make it.

Everyone involved is conscious of the cameras to a degree, though the hope with all such documentaries is that the subjects become less aware over time and an experience close to real is captured and shared. This year’s team is the Bears, the 15th different team. Four teams have been featured more than once – the Bengals, Jets and Rams all have been on it twice each and the Cowboys three times.

As for something like “The Pick Is In,” I can’t imagine the Titans ever wanting to be involved.  I’ve not watched it in full but I’ve seen lengthy clips of the Rams. It’s tremendous TV, showing war-room action as they tried to make moves, watched things unfold as they failed to get anyone to agree and ultimately trade up in the second round.

Per PFT’s breakdown, the show tracks the Rams' attempt to trade up to 10 with the Jets, LA checking in with the Vikings at 11, talking again with the Jets after they traded to 11 with the Vikings and continuing to try to trade up from 19 until Brock Bowers was chosen 13th by Las Vegas. Then they chased Byron Murphy until he was selected 16th by Seattle. Only then did they stay and select Jared Verse 19th.

This is fascinating stuff for fans of the Rams, and the league.

And I can’t imagine a world where the Titans would be willing to let us know the players they may have coveted more than the guy they ultimately got. 

Verse may be a tremendous fit for the Rams, and ultimately the team can always say he was the best player for them at 19 and that chasing Bowers and Murphy was simply their due diligence. I love their willingness to share that info, but understand how uncommon it is and what headaches it can cause.

The real issue could be for the innocent Jets, Vikings and other teams who passed on offers that may look better in hindsight and came to light through none of their own doing.

The Titans are part of the far bigger club that takes that stuff to the grave, or at least only lets some of it out much further down the road, when a pick is a big success or failure and we learn about the road not taken from people who've typically moved on.

They don’t have Les Snead, Sean McVay or a Super Bowl trophy so it’s the wise course.

If they don’t make the playoffs next year but produce some interesting storylines, they could be a Hard Knocks candidate depending on how things go for the other 13 teams who are currently eligible – the Steelers, Colts (unlikely having done the in-season version so recently), Jaguars, Patriots, Broncos, Vikings, Panthers, Saints, Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Cardinals and Seahawks.

New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia could get new coach exemptions. The Eagles could also rebound and go to the playoffs while the Titans, Seahawks and Vikings are not preposterous playoff possibilities.

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