NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – DECEMBER 23: Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers on the sidelines during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on December 23, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the 49ers 20-17. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has some “beef” with the NFL about a bizarre hat rule.
In 2022, the 42-year-old coach will not be allowed to wear his classic headwear — a red hat with a small black Niners logo dubbed “Shanahat,” which took the NFL world by storm in 2019.
During an interview with KNBR 680’s Murph & Mac on Wednesday, Shanahan shared his thoughts on the NFL rule that prohibits this hat choice.
“I have such beef with them right now,” Shanahan said. “It’s a tough issue going on. They won’t let me pick out my own [hat]. They won’t let me wear any one that’s from a [previous] year, so I can’t wear like an older one. I’ve got to wear the new ones that they gave this year. Unfortunately, there’s none I like wearing. Hopefully, we can figure it out or wait until Salute to Service. … It’s just deals. I don’t want to go too hard and get fined or anything but trust me, I’m upset about it.”
The NFL world took to Twitter to react to this news.
“NFL coach can’t wear a hat he wants to wear??” one fan wrote.
“RIP Shanahat. Gone but never forgotten,” said another.
I’m going to guess Kyle, the hat company and the NFL will find a way to work this out (and sell more 2019-vintage Shana-hats) >>,” another added.
The 2019 “Shanahat” was actually a design Shanahan created himself in collaboration with New Era.
“They flipped the laptop around, and they let me kind of design one. And I picked out a logo, and I kept shrinking it. I made it a netted hat, and obviously I got a flat bill and stuff. I just made it like a hat that I like to wear,” he said during an interview with Chris Simms in 2020.
“I wore the hat just because I liked it for myself,” Shanahan continued, “and they sold it in our gift shop down here. After I wore it one game, they sold out right away, and they didn’t make any more because they just made them for me personally, and then for our gift shop.”
What do you think of this NFL rule?
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