Ty Law knows what it’s like to play under Bill Belichick. The Hall of Fame cornerback won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and played a combined nine years under Bill Parcells and Belichick in Foxborough.
On WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Tuesday, Law sounded off on recent reports about a disconnect existing between the Patriots’ coaches and the team’s young players. Notably, rookie cornerback Jack Jones was suspended for the final two weeks of the season, after a reported disagreement with Belichick over his rehab schedule.
Law says he thinks Jones’ apparent conflict with Belichick is fairly commonplace, and thus, not a big deal.
“I can’t see Coach Belichick doing anything disrespectfully,” said Law. “You gotta take it, eat it, because we all have whenever Bill Belichick comes into the meeting room. … Sometimes, coaches have some lips to them, so if you don’t him to embarrass you in the room, you’ve got to fight back sometimes. But they’ll get over it by tomorrow.”
Law added that NFL players are probably more independent these days, due to their multimillion-dollar salaries and large social media followings.
“I will say today’s player has a little more swag to them, I guess,” he said. “They can go out there and say their own piece through social media. A lot of guys are getting paid so much money, they don’t care. … When a player is out there making $20 million, that’s great for the players, but then you’ve got a coach, or an assistant coach, who might be making $2-3 million. There’s a different type of hierarchy there. I see a lot of coaches that say things to people or players that feel like because they’re making the type of money they’re making, that they’re untouchable. I think that has to change. Players making the kind of money they’re making, they don’t give a damn.”
While that may be true around the league, it likely isn’t as relevant to the Patriots, considering Belichick is the highest-paid coach in sports. NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran said Tuesday on “Gresh & Fauria” that Belichick makes north of $30 million annually.
For all of the talk about the Patriots’ coaches, Law says the players are largely responsible for setting the tone in the locker room. Even in the early aughts, Law says Belichick was more of a bystander when it came to managing the team’s personalities.
“Bill didn’t build a damn thing in that locker room. It was the players who built that culture,” he said. “Coach Belichick is the greatest coach we’ve ever seen, all of that, but as far as the locker room, the players have to police themselves.”
