Holmgren makes doubters disappear with 13-2 mark

KIRKLAND, Wash. – During the dog days of the Mike Holmgren era, the questions after each frustrating loss included whether his players would turn on him, or if the big-boned head coach would try to get his hands on one of the fans who shouted at him above the tunnel at Qwest Field.

Last Saturday afternoon, both of those things came to fruition.

A few minutes after his players sneaked up behind him and dumped Gatorade upon his head, Holmgren emerged from the Seattle Seahawks’ locker room and slapped palms with some of the remaining fans.

It was further proof at just how far the big guy has come.

“Those of us in this business, sitting in this chair, we kind of understand what the deal is about,” Holmgren said during his Wednesday press conference. “You learn to take the good with the bad.”

The bad got bad enough that Holmgren lost a job for the first time in his coaching life, when the team stripped away his general manager title following the 2002 season. He followed that up with playoff appearances in 2003 and 2004, but questions about his job status continued to dog him.

This year, Holmgren does not have to worry about any of that. He’s having one of his finest seasons as a head coach and, no matter what happens Sunday at Green Bay, will at least match the two 13-win regular seasons he posted as head coach of the Packers.

By leading the underappreciated Seahawks to a 13-2 record, Holmgren has emerged as a legitimate candidate for coach of the year.

“If anybody deserves it, he does,” fullback Mack Strong said. “I don’t think a lot of people expected us to be where we’re at right now. They expected us to be second, or maybe even third, in our division. But he’s done a great job of managing the players. Through all the injuries we’ve had to key guys, here we are with the best record in the NFL.”

As recently as last season, there were questions about Holmgren’s long-term future. The team’s disappointing 9-7 record left some analysts to wonder if he could get this franchise over the hump, and Holmgren seemed uncertain whether the stars would align. But he’s regained his magic touch as of late.

“This season has been different for him for any number of reasons,” defensive end Grant Wistrom said. “He’s a lot more fun to be around right now. I’m happy for him. I think he’s feeling a lot less pressure this year than last. That’s good. It’s good to be a part of.”

Added defensive tackle Rocky Bernard: “It’s good to see him happy and smiling around here.”

Holmgren said that he doesn’t necessarily feel a sense of redemption in this year’s success, but he does take a lot of pride in what he’s done during the surprising 2005 season. He said that he has been proud of the way he’s delegated duties to his assistants, of the way he has treated the players, and of his game management late in close games.

“I am excited and pleased where the football team has arrived at, from where we were,” he said. “You build something up, and you believe in it. Along the way some things happen, injuries or whatever, but then all of a sudden you’re close to where you thought you could get. Those are all feel-good things for any coach, and any staff.”

While Holmgren’s ultimate success this season will probably be dictated by how the Seahawks fare in the playoffs – he is, after all, 0-3 in the postseason as Seattle’s head coach – he has pushed all the right buttons.

“With the team we had last year, I think he did everything he could with that team,” Wistrom said. “There were just some things happening that just weren’t conducive to a championship-caliber football team. Those things have been addressed this year, and that’s why we’re winning.”

Because he came to Seattle with a Super Bowl ring, Holmgren might never live up to the legacy he left as coach of the Packers. Lambeau Field sits adjacent to Mike Holmgren Way, so his name will continue to loom over anyone who coaches in Green Bay.

“Obviously, those are some pretty big shoes to fill,” said Packers center Mike Flanagan, who spent his first two NFL seasons playing under Holmgren. “It’s (Vince) Lombardi, Holmgren, it’s (former general manager Ron) Wolf and Reggie White. Those are probably the four names, short of Lambeau, of the recent era that Green Bay is synonymous with.”

Current Packers coach Mike Sherman, a former Seattle assistant under Holmgren, knows about having to walk in the large footprints the Seahawks head coach left behind.

“He casts a pretty big shadow, there is no question about that,” Sherman said. “What he accomplished here as a head coach – taking two teams to the Super Bowl, and winning one – in Green Bay is a notable achievement.”

It took more time than some people expected, but the Seahawks are finally looking like the team Holmgren envisioned when he came to Seattle.