Holmgren focused on Seahawks
Published 10:09 pm Wednesday, October 22, 2008
RENTON — Meanwhile, in San Francisco, they’re ushering in a new coach. And making plans for the one after that.
Mike Singletary barely had enough time to assume his position in the hot seat left from outgoing 49ers coach Mike Nolan, and already the Bay Area press is naming his replacement.
Singletary’s hiring has been overshadowed by rumors of the Seattle Seahawks Mike Holmgren replacing him as soon as next year. Most of the media talk is pure speculation, tying a Bay Area native to the team that helped him break into the NFL.
On Wednesday, Holmgren said that he has not heard any of the rumors and added that his sole focus is on the 2008 Seahawks.
“Seattle is my home. This is my team,” he said during his Wednesday press conference with Seattle reporters. “We’ve talked more than a few times in (press conferences) about my future. So right now, we’ve got to figure out how to win a game here for the Seattle Seahawks. Then all the rest of this stuff, it’s speculation.”
A few minutes later, Holmgren made similar statements in a conference call to the San Francisco media. He cited a friendship with Nolan as his reason for not getting into what he called a “hypothetical.”
One thing Holmgren did not do on Wednesday was deny his interest in the 49ers. He grew up a fan of the team and spent six years as an assistant with the team.
When asked Wednesday whether he would reconsider his one-year sabbatical in 2009 — Holmgren has said numerous times that he plans to take next year off before considering whether to come back as a coach of front-office type — he brushed aside the question.
“Let’s hold off on all that stuff,” he said Wednesday.
For now, Singletary will run the 49ers. He’s trying to end a four-game slide that the team had under Nolan, leading to the head coach being fired earlier this week.
“I think more than anything else, it’s just making sure that everybody’s on board,” Singletary said Wednesday, “making sure that everybody understands the task at hand, understanding that we’ve got to go forward. (When) you lose your head coach, you lose something very special. And you’ve got to regroup and get refocused.”
San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis said that he was “shocked” to hear the news of Nolan’s firing, but he added that he has faith in Singletary.
“I know he has waited a really long time to get this opportunity,” Willis said of Singletary, who had a Hall of Fame playing career as a linebacker with the Chicago Bears. “I’m sure he will do the best to his abilities and take us as far as he can.”
