If Malcolm Butler is still angry at New England coach Bill Belichick for not playing in the Super Bowl, he's not showing it.
The former Patriot cornerback used a comparison to his former coach as a compliment and even called Belichick "a great guy" in an interview with Sports Illustrated's MMQB.
Butler, who signed with Tennessee as a free agent, said he could see similarities between Belichick and his new coach Mike Vrabel, who played for Belichick for nine seasons in New England.
"It's the Patriots system, one of the greatest systems in the NFL," Butler told MMQB. "You can tell Mike played for Belichick because you can see some of the similarities. They're about winning the way New England is about winning.
"One thing I saw early: Mike will put you on blast. He don't care who's around," Butler added. "He's going to say what's right. He might be a bit looser than Bill Belichick, but they're both great guys. A man caught a ball on me -- honestly I don't know his name yet -- but Mike let me hear about it. 'Don't get stuck on top of the routes like that! Make a play!' Nobody cares where you come from or what you make. Everyone's equal. And you can tell from the head coach all the way down to the interns, everybody wants to win."
Butler played four seasons for the Patriots. He gained instant fame in Super Bowl XLIX when he intercepted Russell Wilson's goal line pass to secure a championship for New England. He played all 16 regular season games in 2015, 2016 and 2017. His benching for the Super Bowl LII remains an unsolved, and much-speculated about, mystery.