Pete Carroll: The New England years

— -- Pete Carroll ushered in a radical new era when he arrived as head coach of the New England Patriots on Feb. 3, 1997.

Under predecessor Bill Parcells, players had to be five minutes early to a meeting, otherwise they were locked out and wouldn't dare interrupt.

Abrupt. Demanding. Intolerant. Intimidating. Old-school North Jersey. That was Parcells, and for four years the Patriots and their fans ate it up.

Until early 1997, when Parcells -- famously frustrated by not being allowed to "shop for the groceries" in compiling a roster -- finalized a divorce with the Patriots after taking them to the Super Bowl. He wanted control of the roster. Patriots owner Robert Kraft wasn't willing to give it to him. So in a deal brokered by then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the New York Jets sent the Patriots four draft picks in exchange for Kraft releasing Parcells from his contract.

Parcells became the Jets' head coach, and Kraft hired Pete Carroll to follow a legend.

Carroll was the antithesis of Parcells. Upbeat. Positive. Friendly. Encouraging. California cool. It didn't play well, not with the media and not with some of the veterans who were loyal to Parcells despite his defection to a division rival.

Carroll only had one year of NFL head coaching experience, having gone 6-10 with the Jets in 1994. Parcells had taken over a moribund New England franchise -- one that hadn't been to the playoffs since 1986 and had posted a 14-50 record in the four seasons before his arrival -- and took it to the Super Bowl.

"I think when you look back on it, guys that were there through the bad times where the Patriots hadn't won and then with Parcells, who was rough and gruff, we went to the Super Bowl," said Drew Bledsoe, who was the Patriots' franchise quarterback from 1993 until getting injured in 2001 and losing his starting spot to Tom Brady. "They equated that demeanor with success. So from that standpoint, I could see where there could have been some veterans who had a hard time with that transition."

That Carroll did, and he did it his way.

ESPN.com reporters Terry Blount and Ben Goessling contributed to this story.