| | FOXBORO, Mass. -- Pete Carroll was a nice guy who finished
last. And now, at last, he's finished as coach of the New England
Patriots.
The likable defensive whiz kid who inherited a Super Bowl team
from Bill Parcells was fired Monday after three consecutive years
of declining results.
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Monday, Jan. 3
Pete Carroll's firing doesn't surprise me. It's time for a change in New
England. Carroll knows X's and O's as well as anybody. But I think he
lost some control of the football team. He didn't get as much out of his
players as we expected. And his players didn't give him as much. There
is too much talent on that team to be floundering.
He will land on his feet and be a defensive coordinator immediately. It
will be good for Carroll to go someplace else. I don't think we have
heard the last of him as a head coach, but at times he has a reputation
as being a player's coach or not being tough enough. I never played for
him, but when that reputation follows you around, players have a
tendency to relax a little bit. There must be more separation between
the player and coach.
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Carroll departed with a .549 winning percentage -- the best in
Patriots history. But the defending AFC champions went 10-6 in his
first year, 9-7 in his second and 8-8 this season, good for last
place in their division.
"I'm proud of being 27-21 (plus 1-2 in the postseason) and
making the playoffs the first two years I was here," Carroll said
in the Foxboro Stadium parking lot before driving off in his gold
Jaguar. "I'll forever be disappointed that we didn't win more."
There was no immediate word on the fate of the rest of the
coaching staff, or on a successor. The Patriots asked for
permission to talk to New York Jets assistant Bill Belichick but
were denied when Parcells resigned and Belichick was elevated to
head coach.
Owner Robert Kraft said in a brief news conference that the
entire organization would be evaluated, with speculation focused on
whether vice president of player personnel Bobby Grier could also
lose his job.
"This is a business of accountability, and two years ago we won
the division," Kraft said. "Last year we barely made the playoffs
and this year we're 8-8. We need a momentum change.
"Is it solely Pete Carroll's fault? No," said Kraft. "I think
we have to reassess the whole organization. We have to look at
whatever we can do."
When asked if that meant Grier would also be replaced, Kraft walked away from the podium.
Carroll led the Patriots to the second round of the playoffs in
1997 and the first round in 1998. They appeared headed to
postseason play again this season, winning their first four games
and going 6-2 in the first half of the season.
But the offense sputtered after a midseason bye and the Patriots
lost three consecutive games to AFC East rivals. They scored only
108 points in the final eight games.
"At 6-2, we were already packing for the Super Bowl,"
offensive lineman Heath Irwin said. "Maybe overconfidence kicked
in. It wasn't like we were dominating everybody we played. We were
barely beating them and it came back and got us."
In their final two games, the Patriots had their two least
productive days of the season, gaining 225 yards against Buffalo
and 151 against Baltimore. And Drew Bledsoe threw for only 101 and 108 yards in those games.
"Ultimately, we as players didn't get the job done well enough
for the staff to stay in place," Bledsoe said Monday.
Carroll's final week was marked by controversy. He suspended his
top wide receiver, Terry Glenn, for failing to report for medical
checkups on three of the previous four days. Carroll also was
criticized by Grier, who said the players he drafted would have
played better had they been used more.
"You've got to point the finger at everybody," defensive back Ty Law said. "Not just Pete Carroll, everybody."
Carroll entered the NFL in 1984 as Buffalo's defensive backs coach
then held the same position with Minnesota from 1985 through 1989.
His next stop was the Jets, where he was defensive coordinator from
1990 through 1993 before succeeding Bruce Coslet as coach. He was fired after one 6-10 season and was replaced by Rich Kotite.
He was coordinator of San Francisco's outstanding defense the
next two seasons when the 49ers made the playoffs. They were 12-4
in 1996, the same season Parcells and the Patriots lost the Super
Bowl to Green Bay.
But Parcells, upset he didn't have enough power to choose his
players, quit after the season to become coach of the Jets.
"You wonder (what would have happened if Parcells stayed),"
Irwin said. "But I think there were so many conflicts between him
and other people around here that it wouldn't have worked out."
Carroll took over as coach of the Patriots and Grier handled
player acquisition. Only three of the 27 players drafted under
Grier's leadership started Sunday.
The Patriots got little out of the three drafts Grier oversaw
and allowed free agent running backs Curtis Martin to leave for the
Jets and Sam Gash for the Bills.
Rookie Robert Edwards helped the running game last season, but
an offseason knee injury forced him to miss this season and might
end his career.
New England relied on Bledsoe's passing, but he slumped badly
while being heavily pressured. In the final eight games, he was
sacked 33 times and his receivers had trouble getting open.
So after three seasons in which the Patriots started well but
had midseason lulls, Carroll is out.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Pete Carroll looks to future challenges for a new beginning.
avi: 772 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Robert Kraft explains the coaching change in New England.
RealVideo: | 28.8
 Robert Kraft feels the Patriots need a momentum change.
wav: 141 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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