Holmgren to take more time on decision

KIRKLAND – Mike Holmgren is still the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

For now.

Holmgren said during his end-of-the-year press conference that he has yet to make a decision on his future. He plans to travel to Arizona with his wife, Kathy, this weekend to discuss whether or not to return for the 2008 season.

Holmgren, 59, has one year left on his contract.

“Kathy and I are going to go down to Arizona for a couple days, and then I’ll be back here in the 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 the 2007 season, Holmgren set franchise records for total wins (82) and playoff wins (four). But he has considered retirement in the past and was frank about the indecision of his future plans.

His Tuesday press conference included an admission about wanting to one day pursue a general manager job with another team. He got emotional when asked how his current players might factor into his decision, during which time Holmgren appeared to be fighting back tears.

Holmgren even admitted that there comes a time when “maybe it’s time for someone else to try and get us over the hump. We tried like crazy. We got to the Super Bowl once. We have a good football team, we’re in the playoffs. But you start questioning that.”

But Holmgren gave no definitive word on whether he will be back.

“Any coach gets to a point where 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.” Don’t con yourself. I trust her a lot she knows me better than anybody. I feel good. But 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.”