Holmgren the GM moves to the background

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, November 9, 2000

The national theme this week was indecision at the top, and things were no different at Seattle Seahawks headquarters in Kirkland.

Mike Holmgren is still in charge here, but for the first time in his tenure with the Seahawks, the job titles seemingly got crossed. In the process, Holmgren admittedly lost touch with his longest-standing title: that of a human being.

In a rare moment of second-guessing earlier this week, Holmgren offered that “the human side … drifted away from me just a little bit” when dealing with his young quarterbacks.

So Holmgren sat down with his quarterbacks and explained what he’s thinking, asking for input from the players in return. Two days later, he sat down with the media and tried to reel in the ongoing thoughts of the future.

Holmgren, the general manager, has put away his blueprints so Holmgren, the coach, can get back to what he does best.

In an odd week of waffling, an emotional Holmgren started by admitting publicly that he would “address” the quarterback position in the offseason. In the next few hours, he had a meeting with his current quarterbacks and came out of it with the realization that they were off balance and confused about the future.

Something in that meeting touched Holmgren’s human side, and he came away with a different attitude. By Wednesday, the future was no longer Holmgren’s immediate priority.

All of a sudden, Holmgren was warning the media not to count out his current quarterbacks from the big picture. He was talking about running the table and making the playoffs. (Hey, if a deceased senator can take Missouri … ) There was a different theme to his message, filled with more coachspeak.

For seven more games, it seems the GM is fading out of public view in favor of the coach.

For the fans and media, that’s frustrating. We want to know where all this is going, what the future holds for the Seattle Seahawks.

For Holmgren, however, there is no choice but to deal with the present. Even if Jon Kitna doesn’t fit into the big picture, Holmgren has to make sure he’s ready for Sunday’s game. Even if some of the older players might be gone by 2001, Holmgren has to give them his undivided attention in 2000. He owes the team that much. It’s part of the human element.

Amazingly, the Seahawks still seem to be giving their all each and every Sunday. Some are playing for jobs, others just for the so-called love of the game. So how must it sound when Holmgren starts talking about the future? About finding a quarterback in the offseason? About replacing the old with the new?

Don’t get us wrong here. The “It’s NOW time” banners will remain stored away at the team’s Kirkland practice complex. And Holmgren still admits that his goal is to get this franchise to a Super Bowl at some point.

But he’s not ready to give up on this group yet.

After all, they haven’t given up on him.