Bill Belichick is a fan of Micah Parsons, but he wants everyone to slow down just a bit on comparing him to an NFL legend he once coached.

The New England Patriots coach wanted to make sure that no one should be placing the Dallas Cowboys linebacker ahead of Lawrence Taylor when he was asked if Parsons' athletic gifts were the most impressive he's seen since Taylor.

Via PFT:

“I think comparing players like that’s not really – I would just say, I wouldn’t put anybody ahead of Lawrence Taylor, period,” Belichick told reporters on Wednesday. “Maybe I’m prejudiced, but I saw that guy every day for over a decade, and he tilted the field for a decade.

“So, until somebody does that, and there’s a lot of great players – I’m not taking anything away from anybody else, there’s a lot of great players that have been in this league, that are in this league – but personally, I’m not putting anybody ahead of Lawrence Taylor. Not yet.”

Bill Belichick, of course, coached Taylor during their time together with the Giants. First, he was Taylor's linebackers coach for four seasons before coaching as the Giants' defensive coordinator, watching the linebacker blossom into a three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner plus an MVP winner en route to two Super Bowl titles.

Those accolades have helped Taylor become widely viewed as one of the best players in NFL history. Belichick has often said he's the best defensive player in the history of the game.

However, Belichick did kind of open the door a bit for comparisons to be made between Taylor and Parsons earlier this week.

“Very athletic and quick,” Belichick said of Parsons during his weekly interview on WEEI's “The Greg Hill Show.” “Along the lines of a Taylor. That kind of athlete.”

But Belichick put the kibosh on any comparisons outside of that. He was asked if there were any similarities between Parsons' playing style to Taylor's on Wednesday, but he noted that Taylor was an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense while Parsons is more of a defensive end playing in a 4-3 defense.

Belichick is certainly aware though of Parsons' all-around versatility. The linebacker already has four sacks and a forced fumble while making plays in coverage, too.

Belichick noted that the Patriots have to be aware of Parsons at all times when his team faces the Cowboys on Sunday.

“They intentionally move him around, absolutely. Yeah, they intentionally move him around,” Bill Belichick said on how the Cowboys use Parsons. “They play him on the end of the line in different combinations, to the field, to the boundary, to the tight end, to the left, to the right, to the open side, I mean, whatever the formula is. So, you know what you’re getting there.

“They do play him off the ball in some pass rush situations, and they play him a little bit at linebacker – not much, but a little bit. But, most of the time, he’s on the end of the line of scrimmage. I mean, that’s most of it. But, it’s not all of it, and you do have to be aware of him, because wherever they put him, there’s usually some action going on there.”

Sunday will mark the second time Parsons has gone up against Belichick's Patriots squad in his three-year career. He had six total tackles but didn't record a single quarterback hit in the 2021 matchup between the two teams.