Holmgren still Seahawks’ head coach — for now

Published 11:41 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2008

KIRKLAND — This time, Mike Holmgren did not refer to his team as “they.”

Unlike his press conference after the 1998 season with the Green Bay Packers, Holmgren referred to his Seattle Seahawks as “we” on Tuesday afternoon.

For now, the Seahawks are still Holmgren’s team. But the 59-year-old coach admitted that could change in the next week or so.

Holmgren addressed the media for his annual end-of-the-season press conference on Tuesday afternoon, when the most popular subject was his unsettled future. The veteran coach, who has one year remaining on his contract, straddled both sides of the proverbial fence but said the final decision has yet to be made.

“Kathy (his wife) and I are going to go down to Arizona for a couple days, and then I’ll be back here in the (Seahawks’) office on Tuesday,” he said. “We’ll bang around some stuff and talk about the future. My philosophy on that has been the same the last couple years. At the end of the season, particularly after you lose a tough ball game, you’re not in any position to make an intelligent decision.”

During a remarkably frank press conference that lasted more than 40 minutes Tuesday afternoon, Holmgren seemed nostalgic at times but dedicated to the future at others. He talked openly about his desire to one day pursue a general manager position with another franchise but also discussed how difficult it was to imagine himself anywhere other than on the sideline.

At one point during the final minute of the question-and-answer session, he appeared to get choked up when asked about how his current players might factor in the decision.

“Sure, it’s a factor,” he said, blinking his eyes as he appeared to tear up. “That’s why it’s a very emotional decision.”

Holmgren was asked 35 questions during his Tuesday press conference, and more than half of them — 19 — involved his future.

“Any coach who gets to a point where he’s even thinking about something like this, you must think about it seriously and do whatever you decide to do for the right reasons,” he said. “… There’s a lot that goes into a decision like this.

“I don’t want to be melodramatic about this. I just want to do what’s best for the organization.”

In addition to consulting his wife, Holmgren said he will probably get advice from coaching peers of the past and present. Among the people he has plans to ask for advice are recent retirees Bill Parcells, Bill Cowher, Joe Gibbs and Dick Vermeil. He could also talk to current Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, who is weighing a similar decision about whether to come back in 2008.

Holmgren said that there are no health concerns and that he still has that fire to coach, but he also dropped several hints that he might not be back.

When asked about the possibility of being a general manager for another team, Holmgren admitted that he is still attracted to that job.

“One of the reasons I came to Seattle (is) the challenge of doing that,” said Holmgren, who spent his first three seasons in Seattle as the Seahawks’ GM/coach. “I made some errors (during his stint as Seahawks GM). I wish I had more time. I think I’d be better the next time around. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes over. So I think about that.

“But that’s very much my own ego. I’ve never been off the field. I’ve always been on the field. So to have a job that’s off the field, I don’t know. I might come running down, yelling at the officials.”

Holmgren, whose 86 victories are the most ever by a Seahawks coach, also made reference to a possible scenario that would involve turning the team over to another head coach.

“In fairness to everybody, there’s also a time when maybe it’s time for someone else to try and get us over the hump,” he said. “We tried like crazy. We got to the Super Bowl once. And we have a good football team, we’re in the playoffs, those are all good things.

“But you start questioning that. You start thinking: are (the players) still listening to me? That’s what happens.”

The most obvious reason to come back would be the desire to keep coaching. Holmgren even made reference to the possibility of extending his contract beyond 2008.

“The core of the team is coming back and is very solid,” he said. “… I think we’re a pretty good team.”

If Holmgren does decide to step down, the most obvious replacement could be Seahawks secondary coach Jim Mora, who spent three seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Holmgren confirmed that Mora is interviewing with the Washington Redskins this week, so there’s no guarantee that he’ll still be in the mix next week.

As far as Holmgren’s future, no official decision is expected to be announced until next week. While Holmgren and his wife had planned on going to Hawaii after the Super Bowl, they changed reservations following Saturday’s loss to Green Bay.

“We’re pushing it forward just a little bit in fairness to everybody,” he said Tuesday.

“… It’s not going to (take) long. That’s not fair. That’s really not fair to the Seahawks or my coaches. They’re in a little limbo too right now. It’s not going to be a long thing.”