Talking ball with Bill Belichick

CHARLOTTE — Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow has always kept pretty early hours.

But he was surprised one morning at his office at Arizona State, when he was working, and now-Patriots head coach Bill Belichick knocked on his door.

At the time, Belichick was preparing for his first year in his new gig with the Jets (1997), as Bill Parcells’ defensive coordinator. And he was visiting Tempe while at Arizona State’s pro day, checking out prospects, including now-Panthers defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Jason Simmons.

“I always get in early, got a knock on my door about 6:15 in the morning,” Snow recalled. “I thought, who in the heck is this? And it was coach Belichick. I said, ‘Coach, what are you doing? And he said, ‘Can I come in and visit?’ He had visited with some of our players the night before and was impressed by their knowledge.

“So we sat and talked football for three hours. That always left an impression on me, . . . he’s wanting to come talk to me about some things he was impressed with with our players.

“I think he has always tried to get better in every way.”

Snow also noted that now-Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll dropped by one night around 10 p.m. to talk ball, but said that conversation with Belichick was instructive, as they got on the board and talked about the particulars of defense, reminding him of talks with Belichick’s friend Nick Saban.

“They’re the same way, always trying to find an edge,” Snow said. “That always impressed me about them. As good as they are, they’re trying to get better.”