FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- David Harris has spent more than six months in Bill Belichick World, where everyone is trained to believe there's no next week, only this week, and that nothing exists beyond the walls of One Patriot Place.

Harris is a good soldier, and he doesn't mind living by those marching orders. At the same time, he still pays attention to the New York Jets, his team for 10 years. While he was reluctant to discuss the Jets' 5-11 season, he applauded the decision to give coach Todd Bowles a two-year contract extension.

"Yeah, he's a good coach," Harris told ESPN on Thursday in the New England Patriots locker room. "He's the perfect guy, the perfect guy."

Why?

"Because he knows football," Harris said. "He understands how football works on both sides, coaching and playing. He gets it."

Harris was set to play for Bowles this season, but ownership had other ideas. On June 6, he was unceremoniously released minutes after an off-season practice, a shabby way to treat the longtime middle linebacker. It was a cost-cutting move, executed at a time when the organization appeared to be in tanking mode.

At the time, Harris said he was "blindsided," but he didn't want to revisit that painful chapter.

"My response is already out there," he said.

Harris said he's happy with the Patriots even though he doesn't see the field on a consistent basis. In the regular season, he was inactive for four games and didn't play in two others. He finished with only 177 defensive snaps, roughly three full games of work during his days as an every-down player for the Jets. He probably will be inactive on Saturday night when they face the Tennessee Titans in the divisional playoffs.

"I've been good with it," he said of the limited playing time. "I mean, there hasn't been a need for me to play every snap. I just try to do what's best for the team and try to be ready if I'm called to play. My preparation hasn't changed.

"There was a little bit of an adjustment, but everybody has to buy in. That's why this team is so good. Everybody is on the same page."

The Patriots are the top seed in the AFC, only two wins from reaching the Super Bowl. Harris played in two AFC Championship Games with the Jets, but never got to the big dance. Asked about the pursuit of the ever-elusive Super Bowl ring, Harris tried to change the subject.

"I don't want to talk about that right now," he said, shifting into Belichickian mode.

Harris said he signed with the Patriots "because of Belichick and the way he runs his team. They've had 20 years of this and I wanted to be part of it.

"As soon as I got here, everybody welcomed me with open arms," he continued. "We're winning and we have a good team, and that's all you can ask for."

Well, there's one more thing -- a Super Bowl championship -- but he can't talk about that just yet.