KIRKLAND – Yes, it’s true. Mike Holmgren is leaving.
But only for a week or so.
The Seattle Seahawks’ head coach will be back from a vacation sometime next week, and he also expects to return to the team next season.
“I haven’t been told I’m not coming back,” Holmgren said during his annual end-of-the-season media session Tuesday afternoon.
Despite ongoing speculation about Holmgren’s job status, it was apparently never an issue for the Seahawks. He still has two years and $13 million remaining on his contract and expects to fulfill the obligation.
He wasn’t always so certain. Holmgren said Tuesday that he got so frustrated during the 2004 season that he toyed with the idea of giving up coaching altogether.
“Really,” Holmgren said Tuesday, “you say, ‘I don’t want to do this. It’s too hard.’ Because you put so much into it.”
The low point came after a Dec. 6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football, a game that saw Seattle give up two touchdowns in the final 1:45 of a 43-39 defeat. That game was so disheartening that Holmgren discussed the possibility of retiring with his wife, Kathy.
They decided to wait until the end of the season, then take a couple of days to think about it. By Monday, Holmgren knew he wanted to come back.
“I don’t want to coach anyplace else,” he said. “I want to coach here.”
Holmgren, 56, is taking a week off to got re-energized, and he still believes he’s the right man to guide the Seahawks’ ship toward its ultimate destination.
“I suppose there are times when a Carolina, like last year, emerges and they have this huge swing. Or like San Diego, this year, had a huge swing,” Holmgren said. “But usually that’s not the way it is. Usually it (takes) steps.”
Holmgren said he met with team president Bob Whitsitt on Monday, yet the subject of the coach’s job status was not discussed. They talked about upcoming free agents and the decision to let special teams coach Mark Michaels go, and left it at that.
Neither side felt the need to discuss Holmgren’s future, which will continue as head coach of the Seahawks.
After a short break, the coach and team president will continue to work toward some of the franchise’s goals – most notably, the Seahawks’ first playoff win since 1984 and a trip to the Super Bowl.
Many outsiders expected both to happen this season, yet the Seahawks fell short again. A 9-7 record and NFC West title, considered banner performances in most years, were short of expectations.
“It was as unusual a season, coaching-wise, for me as I’ve ever had,” Holmgren said. “There were some great things that happened. There were some very difficult games. A lot of peaks and valleys during the season.”
During his end-of-the-season press conference Tuesday, Holmgren offered few solutions for next fall. He said that the defense should benefit from healthy players like defensive end Grant Wistrom, linebacker Anthony Simmons and defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs. He added that he liked the team’s locker-room chemistry.
More than anything, Holmgren said, the Seahawks’ offseason goal is to keep as many free agents as possible.
“Teams are smarter now on free agency,” he said. “What you want to start with, first of all, is keeping as many of your players that you want here as you can. And we’re no different. We’re going to try to do that.”
If continuity is the way to go, then Holmgren is the man to lead the way. He still fits into the plan, even though it’s now six years into fruition and still taking baby steps of progress.
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