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Bill Belichick's promotion as Giants defensive coordinator irked Lawrence Taylor at first
By Ryan Gaydos
Published January 28, 2021
Before Bill Belichick was winning Super Bowl after Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, he was calling plays for the New York Giants as the team’s defensive coordinator.
Not everyone was too happy about Belichick, under then-head coach Bill Parcells, being on the Giants at the time. Lawrence Taylor, the Hall of Fame linebacker who played his entire career with New York, recalled Wednesday when he heard Belichick was coming to the team.
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"I cursed [Bill] Parcells out when he hired Belichick as the defensive coordinator," Taylor said on "The Boardroom: Out of Office." "I come into the league, and I meet Bill Belichick. He's an assistant special teams coach... now what the hell, that's like a towel boy. What the hell is that? Assistant special teams coach.
"And then the next year he's special teams coach, and then, the third year, Parcells becomes the head coach and he makes... Belichick the defensive coordinator. And I went apes--t. I went up to him and I said, 'Ain't no way! Ain't no way!'"
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The linebacker recalled that Parcells then told him that most of the defensive schemes were Belichick’s anyway.
"I said, ‘what?!’ I mean, even Cover 2... all those belong to him? And he got a little respect from me that day, and I tell you what, he has turned out to be one of the best coaches in history," he said.
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Belichick was the Giants’ defensive coordinator from 1985 to 1990 before taking over as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach. The Giants won the Super Bowl during the 1986 season. Taylor was named the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year after recording 20.5 sacks.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/bill-belichick-promotion-giants-defensive-coordinator-lawrence-taylor