FOXBOROUGH, Mass – Rodney Harrison was named a finalist for the Hall of Fame’s class of 2024 earlier this week. 

And Bill Belichick certainly believes he deserves this high honor.

“Best safety I’ve coached," Belichick said when speaking with the media on Friday morning. "There’s a couple other ones that I’ve coached that are in the Hall of Fame. Fantastic player, person. Great competitor. Could do it all. One of the most versatile players I’ve ever coached.”

“Could cover. He really could play corner. He was a great blitzer. He was a great tackler. Was really, really hard to block in the running game, as a blitzer, kickoff coverage, things like that," he added. "He was very explosive. He was 220 pounds, whatever he was, but he was a thumper. He was a contact player but ran well. Very instinctive. Did a great job at disguising coverages."

Despite having begun his career with the Chargers in 1994, he signed with the Patriots in 2003. And there he won two Super Bowl championships, being a crucial member of what became known as the Patriots Dynasty.

He has been honored numerous times in New England, being named to the 50th Anniversary Team, the All-2000s Team, and the All-Dynasty Team. He was also inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

And now he has a chance to land in Canton.

"He was just a heck of a football player. One of the best I’ve ever coached. He’d certainly be on my All-Time team without question," Belichick said. "Behind [Lawrence] Taylor, but, I mean he would certainly be. He’d be right up there. Tremendous player.”

And when asked who else would make it on his All-time team, Belichick said he hasn't figured it out completely. But he did add that Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Matthew Slater all had a spot. 

Across his 15 seasons in the league, Harrison has 1,198 total tackles, 30.5 total sacks, 34 interceptions, two touchdowns, and 114 passes defended. With that, he became the first player in NFL history to record 30 interceptions and 30 sacks. 

"Made everybody else on the team better. If you practiced against him, you got better or you got embarrassed, one of the two," the Patriots head coach said. He brought a level of competitiveness, intensity, focus. Brought a higher level of practice to the team, which helped everybody. There's a lot of things that don't show up in the stats or anything like that.

"Tremendous respect for what he did as a player. What he brought to our team. How much he meant to our team," Belichick added. "Certainly, I hope he gets recognized, I think he definitely deserves it. This guy's a great football player. Great teammate."

Patriots legend Rodney Harrison named Hall of Fame finalist

A well-deserved honor.