Deberg_1990
08-25-2008, 11:37 AM
08 is his last year in Seattle. From the below conversation, it sounds like he would still be willing to coach or GM for another team if the offer was right.
Id jump on him in a heartbeat if i was an owner.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/08/24/mmqb/index.html
This is a long-winded way to get to the interesting story of their coach, Mike Holmgren, who, if it is possible in today's massively over-covered National Football League, remains an underrated figure. Holmgren announced in the off-season he would coach out the final year of his two-year contract extension in 2008, then part ways with the Seahawks. Seattle named secondary coach Jim Mora the coach for 2009 and beyond.
When I say underrated, consider these numbers before I get back to the Holmgren 2008 story.
• Bill Parcells averaged 9.63 wins per NFL season. Holmgren's average: 10.63.
• Holmgren's 16 teams have won 170 games. Joe Gibbs' 16 teams won 171.
• Holmgren is 170-110 as an NFL head coach. Paul Brown was 170-108-6 in the NFL.
That last one is fairly remarkable.
So Holmgren, the lame duck, is back for one final year here. The question is: Will 2008 be his last year of coaching?
I got the feeling in a long and winding chat in his office after practice Saturday that Holmgren will very likely be back, either as a GM or coach or maybe both, as soon as 2009. And not for just a year or two.
"I'm absolutely at peace with my decision,'' he said. "I'm going to have fun and enjoy coaching this team this year. It's business as usual. That's what I've told the coaches and the players.''
After the season, Holmgren said he and his wife, Kathy, would get away to their vacation home in Arizona, spend at least 30 days decompressing and clearing their minds after another season, then think about making a decision on the future. Notice I said, "think about making a decision,'' not "make a decision.'' Holmgren said he would not put any time frame on when he'd decide what to do with the rest of his life.
"I'm calling this a sabbatical leave,'' he said. "It's not a retirement. I've got to find out how I'll feel about being out of the game. How will I react? I don't know. I have to go through it and see. I have other interests. I'm a curious guy. When you're in this business for as long as I've been in it, you miss a lot of things. Once, when I was in San Francisco [as an assistant coach], we're sitting in an offensive meeting, going through the grind of training camp, and Bill Walsh looks up and says, 'You know, I hear August is a very nice month.'
"Will the future involve football? Will it involve something else? Who knows? The beauty is I'm going to prepare to deal with whatever comes up.''
Several interesting points here. One: This is Holmgren's 10th season in Seattle. He coached seven years in Green Bay. Weird. Most people would think the opposite -- 10 years in Green Bay, seven here. Two: Holmgren has long been heavily admired by other owners in the league. Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder love him, and I think part of Holmgren would love to prove his mettle in a cauldron like the NFC East, a part of the country he's never experienced. Would those jobs be open in 2009 or beyond, if Holmgren takes 2009 to find the inner Mike? Who knows? Three: League friends of Holmgren think he's never gotten over being stripped of his GM responsibilities three years ago, when Ruskell came in.
Holmgren said he didn't regret leaving Green Bay because he wanted to run and coach his own team. "Things changed, and when that was taken away from me, I did have a few of those thoughts,'' said Holmgren, meaning regrets on leaving Green Bay. But he said he doesn't look back on leaving Green Bay with regret, because he had no reason to think Ron Wolf wouldn't run the Packers for several more years, and he didn't know if a chance as good as total control in Seattle would ever come up again. "If I didn't think I could handle how we're set up, I wouldn't have come back this year. But I can. We're fine here.''
On the practice field, he looks and coaches the same. He growls. He teaches. "I see a little more intensity,'' said linebacker Leroy Hill. Hasselbeck said Holmgren "might teach life lessons more than he has, but I'm searching here. He seems the same to me.''
I asked Holmgren about a famous Parcellsism: When you say you're thinking about retirement, you're already retired. He chuckled. "I love Bill, but hasn't he retired four times?'' said Holmgren. "I'd say the same thing if Bill were sitting across this desk from me.''
My gut feeling? Why shouldn't he coach again? Holmgren is 60, and aside from a recent non-life-threatening health scare (he won't disclose what it was), looks good. This season, Tom Coughlin will be 62, Wade Phillips 61 and Rod Marinelli 59, and no one is saying those guys don't have the gumption to coach five more years.
Id jump on him in a heartbeat if i was an owner.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/08/24/mmqb/index.html
This is a long-winded way to get to the interesting story of their coach, Mike Holmgren, who, if it is possible in today's massively over-covered National Football League, remains an underrated figure. Holmgren announced in the off-season he would coach out the final year of his two-year contract extension in 2008, then part ways with the Seahawks. Seattle named secondary coach Jim Mora the coach for 2009 and beyond.
When I say underrated, consider these numbers before I get back to the Holmgren 2008 story.
• Bill Parcells averaged 9.63 wins per NFL season. Holmgren's average: 10.63.
• Holmgren's 16 teams have won 170 games. Joe Gibbs' 16 teams won 171.
• Holmgren is 170-110 as an NFL head coach. Paul Brown was 170-108-6 in the NFL.
That last one is fairly remarkable.
So Holmgren, the lame duck, is back for one final year here. The question is: Will 2008 be his last year of coaching?
I got the feeling in a long and winding chat in his office after practice Saturday that Holmgren will very likely be back, either as a GM or coach or maybe both, as soon as 2009. And not for just a year or two.
"I'm absolutely at peace with my decision,'' he said. "I'm going to have fun and enjoy coaching this team this year. It's business as usual. That's what I've told the coaches and the players.''
After the season, Holmgren said he and his wife, Kathy, would get away to their vacation home in Arizona, spend at least 30 days decompressing and clearing their minds after another season, then think about making a decision on the future. Notice I said, "think about making a decision,'' not "make a decision.'' Holmgren said he would not put any time frame on when he'd decide what to do with the rest of his life.
"I'm calling this a sabbatical leave,'' he said. "It's not a retirement. I've got to find out how I'll feel about being out of the game. How will I react? I don't know. I have to go through it and see. I have other interests. I'm a curious guy. When you're in this business for as long as I've been in it, you miss a lot of things. Once, when I was in San Francisco [as an assistant coach], we're sitting in an offensive meeting, going through the grind of training camp, and Bill Walsh looks up and says, 'You know, I hear August is a very nice month.'
"Will the future involve football? Will it involve something else? Who knows? The beauty is I'm going to prepare to deal with whatever comes up.''
Several interesting points here. One: This is Holmgren's 10th season in Seattle. He coached seven years in Green Bay. Weird. Most people would think the opposite -- 10 years in Green Bay, seven here. Two: Holmgren has long been heavily admired by other owners in the league. Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder love him, and I think part of Holmgren would love to prove his mettle in a cauldron like the NFC East, a part of the country he's never experienced. Would those jobs be open in 2009 or beyond, if Holmgren takes 2009 to find the inner Mike? Who knows? Three: League friends of Holmgren think he's never gotten over being stripped of his GM responsibilities three years ago, when Ruskell came in.
Holmgren said he didn't regret leaving Green Bay because he wanted to run and coach his own team. "Things changed, and when that was taken away from me, I did have a few of those thoughts,'' said Holmgren, meaning regrets on leaving Green Bay. But he said he doesn't look back on leaving Green Bay with regret, because he had no reason to think Ron Wolf wouldn't run the Packers for several more years, and he didn't know if a chance as good as total control in Seattle would ever come up again. "If I didn't think I could handle how we're set up, I wouldn't have come back this year. But I can. We're fine here.''
On the practice field, he looks and coaches the same. He growls. He teaches. "I see a little more intensity,'' said linebacker Leroy Hill. Hasselbeck said Holmgren "might teach life lessons more than he has, but I'm searching here. He seems the same to me.''
I asked Holmgren about a famous Parcellsism: When you say you're thinking about retirement, you're already retired. He chuckled. "I love Bill, but hasn't he retired four times?'' said Holmgren. "I'd say the same thing if Bill were sitting across this desk from me.''
My gut feeling? Why shouldn't he coach again? Holmgren is 60, and aside from a recent non-life-threatening health scare (he won't disclose what it was), looks good. This season, Tom Coughlin will be 62, Wade Phillips 61 and Rod Marinelli 59, and no one is saying those guys don't have the gumption to coach five more years.