When you’ve won six Super Bowls as a head coach in the NFL, your words carry a little weight.
So when former Patriots coach Bill Belichick has some big praise for an often-overlooked former Cowboys legend, it means a little bit more.
Belichick did just that during the Monday Night Football broadcast between the Chiefs and the Buccaneers, taking a moment during his appearance with Peyton and Eli Manning to shed some light on how great of a player (and how great of a man) former Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls was.
Belichick coached Walls during his two years with the Giants and said when Walls got to New York he was “the most unorthodox corner” Belichick had ever coached.
“Still, I’ve never seen anybody play like he does,” Belichick attested. “57 career interceptions, had a great career, probably should be in the Hall of Fame. I told Everson when we got him, I said, ‘Look Everson, I’m never gonna tell anybody to cover the way you do it, I don’t know how you do it, I don’t believe in it, but I’m gonna let you do it your way because you’re still successful with it.’”
Walls’ 57 picks are 14th all-time in NFL history. He made four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro, but in his final year of Hall of Fame eligibility, he did not make it past the cutdown from 15 to 10. If Walls makes it in the future, he will be selected through the Hall’s Senior Committee.
Belichick closed out the segment by referencing Everson’s grand act of selflessness, as in 2007 Walls donated a kidney to former Cowboys teammate Ron Springs.
“Really unselfish player,” Belichick said. “Walls’ technique is unlike any corner I’ve ever coached.”
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