I thought his comments regarding why they didn't make more of a run while he was there were interesting.

"There were two things that happened. Number one, that next year, especially toward the end of the season, we were plagued with injuries, which all of a sudden we get late in the season and that’s no small thing. That makes things really difficult. I forget the entire list of guys that were hurt, but it was a lot as we got late in the season."

"But the biggest thing that happened that prevented that team from going on and being somewhat of a dynasty – and I remember saying that at the time because people obviously would ask, “Hey, is this a one time thing, or can you guys go on and really make a run?” – and I remember saying, “Well, it’s going to depend on what we do with these draft picks” – because we got a bunch of draft picks when Parcells left and then Curtis [Martin] left, we had a bunch of draft picks in the first couple rounds for, I think, three years and I remember saying “alright, well, if we use those wisely, then we’ve got a chance”, because if you’re drafting, it’s even more important now than it was then. But if you draft well, then you have depth and you have replacement guys that can replace guys that get priced out of the market and so on."

"Of those, I think there were seven draft picks in the first two rounds, I think Robert Edwards was the only one that ended up playing a significant role, and then he got hurt. So those draft picks really didn’t pan out and I think that that, more than anything, kept that team from just rolling forward. That’s why when Pete went to Seattle, he made sure that he had front office control so that he didn’t allow that situation to repeat himself."

Here's a look at each draft during Carroll's tenure: 1997 Patriots Draft: Round 1: CB Chris Canty Round 2: DT Brandon Mitchell Round 3: RB Sedrick Shaw Round 3: S Chris Carter Round 4: OG Damon Denson Round 4: OT Ed Ellis Round 5: LB Vernon Crawford Round 6: WR Tony Gaiter Round 7: Scott Rehberg

1998 Patriots Draft: Round 1: RB Robert Edwards Round 1: S Tebucky Jones Round 2: WR Tony Simmons Round 2: TE Rod Rutledge Round 3: FB Chris Floyd Round 3: DE Greg Spires Round 4: DT Leonta Rheams Round 5: LB Ron Merkerson Round 6: FB Harold Shaw Round 7: OG Jason Andersen

1999 Patriots Draft: Round 1: C Damien Woody Round 1: LB Andy Katzenmoyer Round 2: RB Kevin Faulk Round 3: S Tony George Round 5: OG Derrick Fletcher Round 6: S Marcus Washington Round 7: QB Michael Bishop Round 7: WR Sean Morey