Earlier this week, safety Rodney Harrison was named one of the modern-day finalists for placement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Patriots coach Bill Belichick believes Harrison should make it.
Belichick was asked by reporters on Friday what he brought to the Patriots. Belichick provided an uncharacteristically long answer to the question.
“Everything,” Belichick said. “Best safety I’ve coached. There’s a couple other ones I’ve coached that are in the Hall of Fame. Fantastic player, person and great competitor. Could do it all. One of the most versatile players I’ve ever coached. He could cover. He really could play corner. He was a great blitzer. A great tackler. He was really hard to block in the running game, as a blitzer and on kickoff coverage. Very explosive. Two-hundred twenty pounds, whatever he was. He was a thumper. He was a contact player. Ran well. Very instinctive. He did a great job of disguising coverages. Worked well with his teammates, you know, with Eugene [Wilson II] and some of the different safeties we had back there through his career. He’s just a heck of a football player.”
Harrison spent 15 years in the NFL. Drafted in 1994 by the Chargers, Harrison played there through 2002. He signed with the Patriots in 2003, winning a pair of Super Bowls.
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached,” Belichick said. “I mean, he’d certainly be on my all-time team without question. Behind [Lawrence] Taylor, but he’d certainly be right up there. A tremendous player. Great practice player, too. Made everybody else on the team better. If you practiced against him, you got better or you got embarrassed, one of the two. He brought a level of competitiveness, intensity, focus. Brought a higher level of practice to the team, which helped everybody. There’s a lot of things that don’t show up in the stats or anything like that. Tremendous respect for what he did as a player. What he brought to our team. How much he meant to our team. What we lost when we lost him. We lost a great, great player. Monday through Monday. It wasn’t just on Sunday. What he brought to the team every day of the week. Every day he walked into the building. Every time he stepped on the field. Was all positive and impressive. Certainly, I hope he gets recognized, I think he definitely deserves it. This guy’s a great football player. Great teammate.”
While Belichick doesn’t have a vote regarding who does or doesn’t get into the Hall of Fame, his opinions surely carry weight with the voters. If they don’t they should.
If they do, Harrison should get in.