Bill Belichick gave big praise to Pete Carroll when asked about his relationship with his Super Bowl counterpart.

"Good. Great," Belichick said. "Not a coach in the NFL I respect more than Pete Carroll. He's a tremendous coach. He and I have kind of come up together in roughly the same era. We've both been defensive coordinators, we've both been head coaches.

"I have a ton of respect for what Pete does as a coach, how good of a fundamental teacher he is, the way his teams play. I've studied him from afar -- we've never worked together. Studied Pete from afar over a long period of time. I've learned a lot from what he does, and indirectly, I think he's made me a better coach. I have all the respect in the world for Pete and his staff."