Rodney Harrison On Patriots' Continued Greatness: 'You'll Never See This Again In The National Football League'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Friday was a big day for Rodney Harrison. The former All-Pro safety was in Foxboro to try on his brand new bright red jacket, which he will don Monday evening when he's inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
And though his playing career ended more than a decade ago, Harrison was nevertheless struck to return to Gillette Stadium to find the same two key drivers of success -- Tom Brady and Bill Belichick -- continuing the remarkable two-decade run for the Patriots.
Being back in that winning environment prompted Harrison to issue a reminder to the public that what they're witnessing is truly a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
Every year I look at the guys. I look at Brady, I look at [Julian] Edelman, I look at all these players, the way they prepare, the way they work, the sense of urgency, what it means to 'em. It's just special, man," Harrison told reporters Friday. "And I told the fans last night, I was doing this Q&A last night for a couple of hours, and I told them. I said, you guys need to really appreciate what you're seeing, because you'll never see this again in the National Football League. You will never see this level of greatness. You won't see another Coach Belichick; there is no such thing as another Coach Belichick. He's the greatest, point-blank, period."
As for that success, Harrison sees it continuing -- at least through this upcoming season.
"You think I'm taking Andrew Luck over Tom Brady?" Harrison asked the media when asked about favorites in the AFC. "You think I'm taking that young, inexperienced team that went up to Kansas City and got their butts kicked [31-13 in the divisional round]? The Patriots went up there and did their thing. I'm taking the veteran-laced team with the best quarterback -- I don't care what they say on TV -- with the best general manager and the best head coach in Bill Belichick. That's who I'm going with. There's no reason -- the only thing that can stop them is complacency."
Now 46 years old, the two-time Super Bowl champ said that talking to Belichick had him wanting to strap on a helmet and hit the field again.
"And he's still out there running hills and getting in shape and really just excited about coaching," Harrison said of Belichick. "I mean, I got a chance to talk to him for five minutes, and he had me, I was like I'm gonna take off my jacket, I wanna get back on the field! But that's the type of feel that you have when you're around Coach Belichick. He makes you want to play, and not only play but do things right all the time."
Harrison also added some context to the famed slogan "They hate us 'cuz they ain't us."
"Guys like [Patrick Chung], they're still hungry, they still want to do it. They're not just doing it for the money; they're trying to win more championships," Harrison said. "That legacy that guys before them came in, like myself and Willie McGinest, they're still continuing to really take their games to the next level. And for us, for guys like me that are retired over a decade, you sit back and you're proud. Because it's truly us against the world. When you're the best in the world, people hate you. They respect you but they don't like you. People see me, when they meet me as a Patriot and they still see me, and they're like, 'Aw, we don't like you.' And that's all part of it. But that's OK, we'll just keep winning championships."
