CARROLL HAS RULES DOWN PAT: WIN NOW.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

He doesn't wear a tough-guy attitude on his sleeve, own a toothy grin or fill a room with his personality.

But Pete Carroll, like Bill Parcells before him, knows the rules with New England's football team right now: win.

Carroll, 45, was introduced at Foxboro Stadium as Parcells's successor on Monday by team owner Robert Kraft. He comes to the Patriots from the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL franchise Kraft envies most. Winning the Super Bowl is the 49ers' only goal every season and Carroll says he'll shoulder that same burden here.

``We've got to win and we've got to win right now,'' he said. ``There's expectations that I'm very familiar with after spending the last couple years out in San Francisco, and the expectations are we're going for the whole thing. We're trying to win championships and win that Super Bowl. I have no problem with that at all.

``Given the choice of living with expectations of improving a team or going for the whole thing, I don't hesitate for a second. This is what I'm thrilled to be a part of.''

Kraft met Carroll for the first time on Sunday and by Monday morning had signed him to a five-year contract. Kraft said the whirlwind courtship was necessary in order to give Carroll time to fill his coaching staff and prepare for the NFL's busy offseason picking free agents and college draft choices. Asked if the five years were excessive for an unproven head coach, Kraft said ``I want everyone in the organization to know he's not on trial.''

Carroll interviewed with the St. Louis Rams two weeks ago and reportedly set down several excessive demands to which he knew the Rams would not agree. He did this with one eye watching the Parcells situation, knowing the job he really wanted with the Patriots would open up.

``We were in a box,'' Kraft said. ``I didn't know if Bill was coaching or not coaching until last Friday morning. As it worked out, I think we were lucky to get Pete. Sometimes life just works out in strange ways.''

Carroll has extensive NFL coaching experience, but his one shot as a head coach - in 1994 with the New York Jets - turned ugly. He led the Jets to a 6-5 start before ending the year with five straight losses, prompting a pink slip.

``When you go to New York, people say the toughest thing is dealing with all the attention and the media, but I found that part not too difficult. The hard part was winning the games,'' Carroll said.

Carroll wasn't unemployed for long as San Francisco snapped him up as its defensive coordinator. He guided one of the top defenses in football the past two seasons but was passed over in favor of offensive-minded Steve Mariucci when 49ers coach George Seifert stepped down.

Kraft contacted Seifert first for the Pats' opening, but he'll be paid $1.4 million not to coach by the 49ers next season. Seifert then recommended Carroll, someone who Kraft said ``always showed up'' on lists of coaching candidates that others provided him.

Unlike most inexperienced head coaches who usually take over teams in need of drastic overhauls, Carroll inherits the second-youngest team in football that Parcells and player personnel chief Bobby Grier built into a powerhouse. He said he's looking forward to working with Grier on all personnel matters, a stipulation that helped drive Parcells out of town. At his farewell news conference last week, Parcells said his lack of control over all personnel matters was akin to saying, ``If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they should let you shop for some of the groceries.''

On Monday, Carroll's only attempt at humor came when he opened his remarks with a shopping reference. ``I've only got bits and pieces about what's been going on around here, but what's all this stuff about groceries? All I know about grocery shopping is when I go with my wife she makes me push the cart.''

Carroll will scramble to firm up his coaching staff and meet with the Patriots players in the next week. Then the challenge of returning the team to the playoffs - and following Parcells - will begin. He says he's prepared for the inevitable Parcells comparisons.

``That's highly likely and if it happens there's nothing I can do about it,'' he said.

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Photo

Photo: Patriots owner Robert Kraft, right, leaves a press conference with his new head coach, former 49ers defensive coordinator Pete Carroll.

Associated Press