01:00 AM EST on Thursday, January 29, 2004

HOUSTON -- Here are two absolutely mind-boggling statistics from the crazy world of coaching professional athletes:

With the I'm-fed-up, can't-take-any-more, take-this-job-and-shove-it resignation Tuesday of Celtics coach Jim O'Brien, there now is only one coach among the 15 in the entire Eastern Conference of the NBA who was head coach of the same team at the end of last season.

And if you think that borders on the unbelievable, then consider this: Dante Scarnecchia has been an assistant coach for the New England Patriots since 1982, with the exception of two seasons he spent with the Colts in 1989 and '90.

It is that shocking first stat from the coaching ranks of the NBA that makes Scarnecchia's 20-year tenure with the Pats truly amazing.

If television ever airs a Survivor show for pro coaches, Scarnecchia would be the winner, hands down.

Coaches in all pro sports these days tend to have a shorter shelf life than hot chocolate at Gillette Stadium when it's snowing. They are hired to be fired. The coaching carousel goes around faster than Indy cars at the 500.

Yet there was Scarnecchia yesterday, talking about being at his fourth Super Bowl with New England, under three head coaches.

"I've been so lucky," he said. "Honestly, when I think about it, I've been blessed. My kids were raised and educated in New England. It's their home. It will always be their home. How much more could a man in my profession want?"

A native Californian, Scarnecchia considers himself a New Englander now. He summers in Narragansett, and says he intends to buy a home there when he retires. But that won't be for a while yet. He'll be 56 next month, and still loves the game, still enjoys coaching, as much as he did when he started as an assistant at his alma mater, California Western, in 1970.

It was Ron Meyer who brought Scarnecchia along with him to the Patriots from Southern Methodist, where Scarnecchia had been coach of the offensive line that opened holes for the Mustangs' famous "Pony Express" backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James.

But, when Meyer was fired midway through the 1984 season and replaced by Raymond Berry, Scarnecchia stayed on. And on. And on. And on.

He worked for Berry through 1988, when Raymond, pressed to make some changes in his staff because the team was slipping, let him go. But Dick MacPherson brought him back in 1991, and Scarnecchia has been in New England ever since, working for Bill Parcells, Pete Carroll and, now, Bill Belichick.

"You have to know what the head coach wants," Scarnecchia said. "You have to know what his vision is, what it is he's after. And you have to acquiesce to it.

"It was very easy to work for Parcells. He knew exactly what he wanted. If you didn't go along with him, it was going to be ugly. If you did, there was no conflict."

Scarnecchia's work ethic, his attention to detail, and his teaching ability are the key reasons so many coaches have wanted him on their staffs.

"He's a great coach and a great teacher," said Patriots guard Russ Hochstein. "He's the kind of guy who does his job with great passion. It's obvious that he loves football.

"He's really good about teaching techniques, about going over the little things, time after time. He brings out the best in a lot of guys. He pushes players to be the best they can be."

Hochstein is one measure of just how well Scarnecchia has done his job this season.

In the AFC Championship game against Indianapolis, the Pats started three players who, prior to this season, never had started a game in the NFL.

At center was rookie Dan Koppen, a fifth-round draft choice out of Boston College. At right guard was Hochstein, pressed into action because of an injury to Damien Woody, who early in the season had to move from center to guard when veteran Mike Compton was place on the injured reserve list. Against the Colts, Hochstein was making only his second start in three years in the NFL. And at right tackle was Tom Ashworth, who had been undrafted out of Colorado in 2001, but started the final 13 games for New England this season.

Yet that unit did not allow quarterback Tom Brady to be sacked even once, and opened enough holes in the Indianapolis defense to allow Antowain Smith to rush for 100 yards.

"I've got a good bunch of guys," Scarnecchia said. "They're people with good character, who are team-oriented."

In that regard, those players are much like their position coach.

Woody, who has a knee injury that will keep him out of the Super Bowl, displayed that character when he selflessly shifted from center, where he had been selected for the Pro Bowl in 2002, to guard after Compton was hurt.

"I told him our next best lineman was Dan Koppen, and I wanted to put him on the field," Scarnecchia said. "Damien will do anything to help the team."

Soft-spoken in settings such as yesterday morning's, when he sat at a table in a crowded meeting room at the Patriots' hotel, Scarnecchia can be much louder on the practice field.

"I yell at 'em when they make mistakes," he said, "and, when they do well, I praise them. They've got to have thick skin. We try to make it hard on them in practice in order to see how they'll react during a game."

Scarnecchia knows how tough this next game could be.

"Carolina has a great front seven," he said. "Their 'down' guys are exceptional. They play physical football. They've got a middle linebacker [Dan Morgan] who makes plays everywhere."

Scarnecchia coached the tight ends and special teams when Berry's Patriots lost to the Bears in 1986. He coached the linebackers in 1997, when Parcells' Patriots lost to the Packers. Under Belichick, he has been the offensive line coach, and also has the title of assistant head coach. His fondest football memory, naturally, is of beating St. Louis in the Super Bowl two years ago.

"There have been so many really good coaches, so many really good players, who have never had the opportunity to be in a Super Bowl even one time," he said. "I'm fortunate to have been here four times.

"But, say what you want about this game, you don't want to lose it. Losing it is a painful event. There is no satisfaction in coming in second. Losing the last game is a tough experience.

"On the flip side, to win one is to attain everything you've strived for."