Bill Belichick Names The Best Special Teams Player In NFL History

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will enter history as the best head coach in the NFL. We can easily say he can recognize a great player when he sees one. Belichick has worked with a lot of players during his time as a head coach and he has already won a lot of games with the best special teams player in NFL history.

Matthew Slater.

In an interview with The 33^rd Team, the Patriots head coach praised Slater and everything he has accomplished so far.

“When you have the opportunity to coach players that are great in areas, and that of course includes the specialists,” Belichick said. 

“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.”

Belichick won three titles with the best special teams player

Slater has made a name for himself. He embraced the Patriot Way and built strong reputation in the NFL. He joined the NFL as a fifth-round pick in 2008. Slater showed great potential on the field and Belichick praised his versatility.

The Patriots gave Slater a key role for a reason. He made the Pro Bowl in his fourth season with the Patriots and enjoyed the same privilege 10 times. Slater worked hard to earn the All-Pro recognition twice and won three Super Bowls with the Patriots.

Slater is 37 and he will have to retire at some point. He will start his 16^th season in the NFL and several analysts say he could retire after this season. It is too soon to make a prediction about his future. We do know that Belichick respects his star player and will try to keep him around for a while.