Bill Belichick names three best players in NFL history – all have one thing in common
Legendary Patriots coach Bill Belichick names the three greatest players in NFL history — and they all have one thing in common
- Coincidentally, all three players Belichick mentioned once played under him
- Two of the three players played under him while with the New England Patriots
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has named who he thinks is the greatest player of all time in each of the game’s three stages, speaking with former NFL manager turned analyst Mike Tannenbaum.
In addition to Belichick highlighting why he chose those players, he also revealed that they all played under him throughout his career.
On offense, Belichick predictably named quarterback Tom Brady, who led the coach to all six of his Super Bowl victories.
Defensively, Belichick named outside linebacker Lawernce Taylor and on special teams he selected shooter and reserve wide receiver Matthew Slater.
“I feel like I coached the best offensive player, the best player in football in Tom (Brady); the best defensive player in football in LT (Lawrence Taylor), and the best special team player in football in Matt Slater,” Belichick told Tannenbaum.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has named who he thinks are the three greatest players to ever play
Not surprisingly, Belichick also named quarterback Tom Brady as the greatest offensive player
He named Lawernce Taylor the best defensive player and Matthew Slater for special teams
“If you’re a coach and you coach Taylor, Brady and Slater, those are three pretty good players.”
Brady and Taylor need no introduction as they are both two of the most legendary players in the history of the game, although it should be noted that Taylor is one of three players who did not play in New England for Belichick.
The Hall of Fame linebacker overlapped with Belichick when the now 71-year-old was a coaching assistant with the New York Giants.
Slater is the one player who may not be well known to mainstream fans, but he was a key special team player on three of the New England Super Bowl teams.
“As a core special teams player, Slater is really, you know… has been the greatest of all time,” said Belichick. “I hope he gets recognized for that.”
Slater is also the only one of the three players still fitting into the league and preparing for his 16th season.