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Four days after Parcells resigned to take over the Jets, Slade walked into a press conference with his new coach, Pete Carroll. Slade's face glowed: He had just signed a five-year, $12.75 million contract, and he had been told by Carroll that he would be an every-down player. That stood in stark contrast to last November, when Parcells removed Slade from the starting lineup, prompting the two-year starter, who was to become a free agent after the season, to vow that he would not play another year for Parcells.

"If they offered me $10 million a season and Bill was still here, I wouldn't stay," said Slade, who has had 29 1/2 sacks in four seasons with New England. "Maybe I shouldn't say that, but that's how I feel."

Like many of his teammates, Slade didn't particularly care for Parcells' hubris. But he has found a friend in Carroll, who began to woo the 26-year-old soon after being hired. Carroll's first act, in fact, was to tell the front office that Slade must be re-signed. The new coach envisions Slade and defensive end Willie McGinest forming a dynamic duo on defense. "With Chris and Willie, we have two guys on the edge who can fly up the field and create a lot of problems," Carroll says.

And so a new era begins. Carroll's first head coaching stint lasted just one forgettable season, 1994, with the Jets. For the past two years he was the defensive coordinator for the 49ers, an experience that seasoned him for his second go-around in a top job. Carroll is junking Parcells' read-and-react, two-deep zone defense to install a gambling, attacking style that will feature man-to-man coverage and five-man fronts. The underpinnings of this D will be Slade and McGinest, with the latter playing the "elephant," a role out of the 49ers' system in which a pass rusher constantly moves around on the line of scrimmage, looking for a crevice through which to attack the quarterback.

In New England's enchanted run to the Super Bowl, the defense allowed just five touchdowns in the seven games preceding the meeting with Green Bay. All the key players are back, and they'll be joined by two new cornerbacks: free agent Steve Israel, who will play in nickel situations, and Kansas State's Chris Canty, who showed immediately that he might be a steal when, on the first day of minicamp, he intercepted three passes.

With the scheme change and player additions, the Patriots' defense now appears ready to assert itself as a dominating one. That's a scary thought for the rest of the AFC, considering that the New England offense, which sent four players to the Pro Bowl last season, is already as potent as any around.

Of course, it's also one Drew Bledsoe injury away from mediocrity. Bledsoe, the fifth-year quarterback, is the franchise. He had another impressive season in '96 — his 27 touchdown passes ranked third in the NFL — but he needs to show more poise if the Patriots are to be a marquee team. Bledsoe was the 11th-rated passer in the AFC last season on third downs; his rating in such situations was 65.0, almost 20 points off his overall number.

Carroll hopes to remedy this by stretching opposing defenses with more deep routes — added for wide receiver Terry Glenn, who last year set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie. The longer routes, in turn, should open things up underneath for Ben Coates. The Pats tight end caught 84 passes in '95, but his production dropped last season with the emergence of Glenn and wideout Shawn Jefferson. Look for Coates — who became the highest-paid tight end in the league this off-season, with a three-year, $7.5 million contract extension — to be featured more prominently in the offense, once again becoming Bledsoe's favorite third-down target.

Aside from Bledsoe, the most important player on this team may be third-year back Curtis Martin, who at $260,000 this season is one of football's best bargains. Martin, 24, averaged more than 1,300 yards and reached the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons.

"The stage was set last year," says Carroll. "We're playing to win a championship." A hollow statement when uttered by most coaches, but, with the talent he has at hand, one that rings true for Carroll.

— by Lars Anderson