New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has named the three best players in NFL history - and he's coached all of them.
Belichick can hold the claim of being one of, if not the, greatest coach ever to work in the NFL with his six Super Bowl rings to his name. No other head coach has that many championship wins, not even the great Vince Lombardi who the trophy is named after.
The 71-year-old, who also works as general manager of the Patriots, as well as head coach, has been in Foxboro since being appointed in 2000. Belichick’s arrival coincided with the team drafting quarterback Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft with the 199th pick in the sixth round.
Brady announced his retirement from the NFL in February, calling time on a 22-year career that saw him win seven Super Bowl rings. Six of those triumphs came alongside Belichick with the Patriots, while his last was won with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now the Patriots GM has listed the best three players that he has ever coached over the course of his career which began in the 1970s. His picks include one player each for offence, defence and special teams
In no surprise, Belichick picked Brady as the best offensive player that he has coached. His other two picks featured former Patriots linebacker Lawrence Taylor and current wide receiver Matt Slater.
Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999, after spending his entire 13-year playing career in the NFL in New England. Slater was drafted in 2008 by the Patriots and is still a part of the franchise’s special teams unit.
"I've been very fortunate," Belichick told The 33rd Team . "I feel like I coached the best offensive player -- best player in football in Tom (Brady), the best defensive player in football in L.T. (Lawrence Taylor) and the best special teams player in football in Matt Slater.
Belichick added: “When you have the opportunity to coach players that are great in areas, and that of course includes the specialists, guys like Adam Vinatieri and (Stephen) Gostkowski, don't want to take anything away from them, either. And great punters like (Sean) Landeta and (Dave) Jennings and so forth.
"But the special teams coverage guys -- and we've had a lot of them -- back in the Giants, you know, with Reyna Thompson, and great returners like (Dave) Meggett and (Julian) Edelman and Troy Brown and all that.
“But as a core special teams player, Slater really is, I'd say, been the best of all time. I hope he gets recognized for that."
