We love him, we hate him, we don't know if we can live without him, and yet 2008 is his final season with the Seahawks. His replacement starting in 2009, Jim Mora, is already on the sidelines as an assistant coach. The announcement has been made. Staff scampered to new positions with different teams, and even our very own Jim Zorn took off for an opportunity to make it on his own. No one knows what the 2008 season will bring except this: 2008 is going to be the last year under the tutelage of Mike Holmgren.
Mike Holmgren left a legacy for the Seattle Seahawks. He was the first and only coach in our history to take us to the Super Bowl. We lost the game mired in controversy but he still achieved a result that we had previously not known and for that he sealed his fate in the annals of our history. He took a team that had been perpetual underachievers and brought them into the media spotlight. He took a team that had little respect in the NFL and made them feared. He brought #12 back to the stadium and made Qwest Field one of the loudest, if not the loudest, stadium in the NFL!
Now we are heading into the 2008 season, his last in Seattle. He believes we still have a chance to win. I believe this year will be his most challenging by virtue of the changes that occurred in the off-season, most notably with the mass exodus of staff. No matter how it plays out, this, his last year, is worthy of a tribute to future Hall of Famer Coach Mike Holmgren. Let's see how he closes this chapter of his coaching career and this chapter of Seahawks history.
My feelings on Coach Holmgren are that he took us to the top of the mountain which no one else was ever able to do. Many Sundays I sat in my chair getting very frustrated with his conservative play calling and willingness to try and ride a three point lead to victory. All that being said it’s hard to argue with four straight division titles and a trip to the Big Show. I am ready for a change but I fear a few years from now I will be missing Mike. -- Lance Larson, Sioux Falls SD, Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:26 AM