By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND – Mike Holmgren took the opening barb. Surely, it would be the first of many to come.
When a reporter made a comparison last week between Ricky Watters’ return and that of Joey Galloway two years ago, Holmgren couldn’t help but take a shot.
“You are talking about two different players and two different attitudes. It is just different,” the Seattle Seahawks coach said, bristling at the comparison. “Ricky desperately wants to come back in and help, and I am not sure the other guy did.”
Ouch. Ten days before Galloway and the Dallas Cowboys were to descend upon Husky Stadium, and already Holmgren was getting chippy. It seemed like things would only deteriorate from there.
But now that the Galloway-Holmgren reunion is almost upon us, the disdain doesn’t seem to be quite as deep as expected.
“It wasn’t personal,” Holmgren said this week of Galloway’s 1999 contract holdout with the Seahawks. “He was kind of a charming guy. I liked him.”
Galloway, perhaps the fastest wide receiver in all of football, swiftly side-stepped any controversy as well.
“I never really thought that we could not co-exist,” Galloway said. “I know there were some business aspects that needed to be taken care of, and those were the things that got in the way of us co-existing on the football field.”
The 1999 holdout remains the most frustrating saga of Holmgren’s three-plus years in Seattle. After participating in summer minicamps shortly after Holmgren arrived, Galloway skipped training camp while seeking a new contract. He was in the final season of a five-year deal, but claimed that previous team executives had promised to re-work that year’s salary before the ‘99 season began. Holmgren made an offer but refused to negotiate, claiming there was not enough room under the salary cap.
The holdout lasted until Week 9, and even when Galloway finally reported, he was not much of a factor in the offense. In fact, the Seahawks went 3-5 with Galloway after starting that season 6-2.
One month after a season-ending playoff loss to Miami, the Seahawks placed a franchise tag on Galloway, meaning they retained his rights for another season while he was ineligible for free agency. Two days later, Galloway was traded to Dallas and promptly signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Cowboys – about $7 million more than the Seahawks had originally offered.
“We tried to sign him at the time,” Holmgren said this week. “I believe he was going to make just a couple nickels less (with the Seahawks) than the highest-paid receiver in all of football. That wasn’t going to get it done. When that happened, then it was kind of out of my hands. But we tried to sign him.”
During a conference call with local reporters Wednesday, Galloway said he hasn’t thought about the 1999 season. Rather than dwell on the past, he preferred to talk about his new start in Dallas.
“I’m looking forward to playing the game,” Galloway said of Sunday’s tilt at Husky Stadium. “It will be a chance for us to get our third victory in a row. We’re trying to build on some things here, and this is just another game for me.”
For Seahawks fans, it’s not just another game. Those in attendance will likely shower him with catcalls when the Cowboys take the field.
“I expect to be booed like I am everywhere that we play on the road,” he said, then added with a chuckle: “As long as they stay in the stands, I don’t anticipate having a problem.”
Galloway added that he didn’t expect an Alex Rodriguez-type reaction from the Seattle crowd: “I don’t think it will be that bad. I mean, they really booed him.”
He understands the fan disapproval, but says there is a side to the story they never saw.
“I don’t know that anyone is ever going to have the opportunity to see it from the player’s standpoint,” he said. “A lot of that is because they’re only able to see what’s in the paper or what’s on the news. Anytime a guy’s making the kind of money we make, and it becomes an issue of money, then the player looks greedy. And that goes with the territory.
“I’ve never been a guy who felt the need to have approval of the public. I’ve never felt the need to explain to the public my motives. I don’t know that they’ll ever see my side. But I don’t know how important that really is.”
Galloway’s former teammates are also downplaying the reunion.
“He did some great things while he was here,” said defensive end Michael Sinclair, one of only 21 players remaining from the 1999 team. “Unfortunately, the way the negotiation went, it kind of spilled over. But that was between Joey and the organization, not Joey and the team.
“Am I glad to see him? Yeah, I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
Sinclair wasn’t the only player who remembers the 1999 holdout, and Galloway’s subsequent return, as being distractions.
“When he came back, we had Derrick Mayes and Sean Dawkins, and we were winning,” said return man Charlie Rogers, who was a rookie in 1999. “(Galloway) really didn’t fit in. … We knew he’d be gone (after the season).”
In the end, Seattle got two first-round draft picks for Galloway. Those were used on running back Shaun Alexander and wide receiver Koren Robinson, both of whom are major building blocks to the Seahawks’ future. (Fullback Heath Evans could also be included because he was selected with a third-round pick acquired when the Seahawks traded down two spots to get Robinson.)
For all parties involved, seeing Galloway on the other sideline seems to be the best situation.
“How could he be mad? He got like a gagillion dollars,” tight end Christian Fauria said. “Everybody was happy. We’ve got a good team, our record’s better than theirs, so … “
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