Former Patriots RB coach Ivan Fears on James White’s career: ‘The perfect team player’

Listening to former Patriots assistant Ivan Fears, James White was a coach’s best friend.

The three-time Super Bowl champion back, who announced his retirement Thursday, was clearly one of Fears’ favorites. He loved having White in his running backs room.

“For me, James was the perfect team player. He really was,” Fears told the Herald by phone. “If there’s one thing that I loved the most, he always said the right things to the guys.

“If the guys didn’t agree with what was going on, James always had my back. And that was very, very important when you got guys whose egos were involved, or had their own opinion about what was right, what was wrong. And I love him for that. He was the best kind of player you could have in your room. He really was.”

Fears also lauded White for the player he was on the field, calling him one of the “greatest third-down backs we ever had.” White followed a long line of stud backs including Patriots Hall of Famer Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen.

White, a four-year captain, owns the most receptions (364), receiving yards (3,161) and receiving touchdowns (25) by a running back in the NFL since 2015.

“He was a special player for us. He could run the ball. He could catch the ball. He could block for you, and he was smart, really smart,” said Fears. “He was very dependable. He was the best kind of player you could have in your room. He really was. He was like having a coach on the field.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/Z2Da9zY