If he had it to do over again, Bill Parcells sounds like he would've stayed in New England. (USATSI)
It has been 16 years since Bill Parcells left the Patriots following their Super Bowl loss to the Packers. Now, a month before Parcells is to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he admits that he could have handled the situation better.

"I regret leaving New England. Had we done things differently ... " Parcells recently told USAToday.com's Jim Corbett. "I had a good young team there. I hated to leave that team, because I knew what we could do.

"I was absolutely too headstrong. And [Patriots owner Robert Kraft] might have been a little headstrong, too. I think both Kraft and myself, retrospectively, would have done things a little differently."

Parcells left the Patriots for the Jets, where he coached 1997-99, amassing a 29-19 record and two playoff appearances. After four years away from the game, Parcells returned to the sidelines with the Cowboys, where he coached 2003-06. He was 34-30 in Big D, making the postseason twice.

The Patriots, meanwhile, turned to Pete Carroll, who went 27-21 in three seasons following Parcells' departure but never lived up to the lofty expectations of his predecessor. But in 2000, New England hired Bill Belichick away from -- coincidentally -- the New York Jets. In the 13 seasons since, Belichick has won 151 games, including three Super Bowls, something Parcells could never do in Foxborough.

Parcells said he left New England, in part, because he didn't have final say over roster decisions. According to Kraft, the two made up some 10 years ago when Parcells approached him at a Super Bowl and said, "If I had to do it all over again, I would have done things differently.' And I said, 'So would I.'"

"It would have been pretty special," Kraft told Corbett. "We were just coming at it from different times. And so much in life is timing. But, in the end, we have a great relationship today. I have great respect for him. He did a great deal for our franchise. And I will forever be grateful for that."

Kraft also admitted that he wasn't without blame.

"Look, I was a new owner," Kraft said. "I had a lot of debt. I had stardust in my eyes. I had a Hall of Fame coach. I was green and new. And I don't think Bill had ever dealt with someone like myself. He had a contract that said he'd coach year to year. And that didn't make me feel secure.

"When I bought the team in 1994 ... he was coaching year to year, making personnel decisions. He used to drive down to [his home in] Jupiter, Fla., at the end of the year, and he'd say he'd decide whether he was coming back to coach. That didn't inspire confidence in me."

Parcells, who won two Super Bowls with the Giants, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 3.

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