For the third time, the Dallas Cowboys will be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in it’s 20th anniversary season. The five-episode season will debut on August 10 at 9 pm CT. The Cowboys are the first team to be on the show three different times after they were featured in 2002 and 2008.
In order to be eligible for Hard Knocks, you have to meet a certain criteria:
1. You can’t have a rookie head coach.
2. You can’t have made the playoffs in the last two seasons.
3. You can’t have appeared on the show in the past 20 years.
Teams can volunteer themselves for inclusion, but it’s not the best list to be on. The Panthers, Giants, Broncos and Cardinals were also eligible for the show.
“America, America’s game and America’s Team had a tough 2020. I feel like this is a perfect happenstance of football, the Cowboys and hopefully the country,” said NFL Films’ Ken Rodgers, the show’s senior coordinating producer. “I’m sure the Cowboys want to put their difficult season behind them more than anyone.”
Dallas was 6-10 last season in Mike McCarthy’s first year as head coach. Former Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott missed most of the season with an ankle injury, and that will likely be the storyline to watch. Former Alabama receiver Amari Cooper is on the squad along with former Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb and former Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliot.
The Cowboys will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio on August 5, so this will be the first time a team will have it’s first episode air after their first preseason game.
