Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the Giants’ linebackers coach and defensive coordinator for the first 10 years of Lawrence Taylor’s Hall of Fame career, and Belichick will always say there’s never been a linebacker like Taylor.
That includes Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, whom Belichick was asked about today as the Patriots prepare to face Chicago on Sunday. When Belichick was asked today about Taylor and the great pass rushers he’s seen, and whether Mack compares, Belichick answered that there’s no comparison between Taylor and anyone else.
“Wait a minute, we’re talking about Lawrence Taylor now. I’m not putting anybody in Lawrence Taylor’s class. Put everybody below that. I have a lot of respect for a lot of good players, but we’re talking about Lawrence Taylor,” Belichick said.
There may never be another player who’s in the class of Lawrence Taylor. In Belichick’s mind, refusing to compare Mack to Taylor isn’t knocking Mack. It’s simply stating that Taylor set a standard that no one has equaled.