Asante Samuel helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls during his five-year tenure in New England.
He also influenced the coaching style of the greatest coach in NFL history.
That's what Samuel claims, anyway. In a tweet Tuesday morning, the former Patriots cornerback said he "made (Bill) Belichick understand the cornerback position better" and insisted Belichick teaches some of his current players some of the methods Samuel used despite initially balking at them.
Download the MyTeams app for the latest Patriots news and analysis
Samuel didn't provide any specifics, but as CLNS Media's Evan Lazar points out, the Pro Bowl cornerback utilized a "T-step" technique in which he planted his foot laterally to break more quickly on the ball.
The T-step an aggressive technique that pass-catchers can expose with double moves, but it allowed Samuel to rack up 22 interceptions in New England, so perhaps the ex-cornerback is saying Belichick now teaches his players this technique after being wary of it.
That's not out of the realm of possibility, as Belichick has shown a willingness to adapt to new NFL trends over his 45-plus years in the league.
Samuel clearly was in a nostalgic mood Tuesday, because he also shared another memory of Belichick giving him a hard time during a 2013 game between the Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, whom Samuel played for at the time. (Warning: Tweet contains NSFW language.)
Samuel and Belichick didn't have the best relationship -- the ex-cornerback has made it clear where he stands on the Belichick vs. Tom Brady debate -- but the two apparently weren't above some friendly banter.
If only Belichick had a Twitter account to offer his side of Samuel's latest stories.