The who's-the-better-coach-Bill Belichick-or-Mike Tomlin? debate has been over for a while now -- last December may have been the final nail in that particular coffin -- but James Harrison played for both, he was Skip Bayliss and Shannon Sharpe's guest on FS1's Undisputed, so the question was a natural one:
Mike Tomlin [or] Bill Belichick?
"Belichick" was Harrison's quick, unequivocal answer.
By far?
"To me, yes."
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Okay, then, Why?
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"Mike Tomlin's good as a head coach," said Harrison, the Steelers' long-time linebacker who finished his career with the Patriots last season. "He's a players' coach. I think he needs to be a little bit more disciplined . . .
"The big thing with Belichick is, he's very regimented. He's disciplined. Everyone is going to be on the same page. It's not going to be anything as far as someone doing their own thing. Over there, their whole coaching staff is like that. You're going to know what you're doing. There's meeting after meeting; I ain't never been to so many meetings in my life . . . Man, I seen Tom Brady running to a meeting, scared to be late . . . I don't even know what happens if you're late to a meeting over there.
'Cause everybody gets there on time?
"Yes. Yes."
The bottom line, in Harrison's mind, is this:
"Belichick is old school. Like, 'You're going to do it like this or it ain't gonna get done.' Like I said, playing for him is easy if you're used to [regimentation], if you're used to disicipline; (if you're used to it) it's not something that's hard to do. If you're not, then you're going to have some issues until you get in line."
And personally?
"Belichick's actually funny. He's nothing like the guy that you see on TV."