I just wanted to say a few things about the Seahawks and specifically Coach Mike Holmgren. This Sunday he will coach his final game for the Seahawks at Arizona, and that will cap off an incredible 10 year run of history for this franchise. It’s been quite a ride!
Though he most certainly does not know it, Mr. Holmgren and I are connected – but it is in one of those time-space kind of ways. You see, I moved to Washington in 1998, and not soon thereafter Mr. Holmgren was hired as the new head coach of the Seatle Seahawks. It was a huge, HUGE, “get” by the local team – it instantly brought respect, credibility, and notability to a team that for far too long had languished in relative obscurity in the Northwest. It was a new start – for us both – and it would be filled with the many highs and lows that only a decade of life can provide.
Sadly, that decade is, in some ways, coming to an end. This Sunday the Seahawks will face-off with Arizona. The team has had a forgettable season, primarily the result of a rash of devastating injuries to some big-name players at the most important positions. It’s been a tough season, and unlike in seasons past, the team won’t have the benefit of Coach Holmgren’s steady leadership to guide it through a challenging off-season in preparation for next year. The team, rather, enters unknown territory with a new coach and a possible re-shuffling of the roster. This is hardly familiar waters for a team fortunate to have 10 years of capable stewardship.
Some say change is good. In this case, I disagree. Mr. Holmgren should have been allowed to stay with the Seattle Seahawks as long as he was interested in coaching – no questions asked. You simply don’t turn away a man of his stature. I was and continue to be very disappointed with the Seahawks for the way they apparently showed him the door. They should have never taken away his GM responsibilities. Give him all the time-off he needs and desires. But let him go?? No! It’s very disappointing.
I will never forget back in late ’98/early ’99 the Seahawks ran a commercial where Coach Holmgren, flanked by his Seahawks players, marched off a Seattle Ferry deck and onto Colman Dock in downtown Seattle. Over the visuals you heard Holmgren saying, “We have a Super Bowl caliber football team.” Although he was not immediately prophetic (the Seahawks didn’t reach the Super Bowl until 2005), the words were exactly what that team and this city needed. Some attitude. Some confidence. Some leadership. It was very cool to know you had a guy like that representing your team and walking on your sidelines.
Much remains to be seen from the Seahawks in the post-Mike Holmgren era. It’s going to be weird, no doubt. Regardless of all that, I would just like to say thank you to Coach Holmgren for pouring his heart and soul into the Seahawks. It has been a great ride indeed.
Mr. Holmgren, you’re one of the best. Thank you.