Holmgren rumor mill: Will he stay or will he go?
DAVE BOLING; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: January 15th, 2008 01:00 AM
While speculative debate centers on whether Mike Holmgren will return for another season or call it a career with the Seattle Seahawks by retiring or resigning in favor of other employment opportunities, I’m not sure why there isn’t more discussion about trying to extend his contract … to lock him up for a few more years.
He’s 59. He’s been the most successful coach in franchise history.
Yes, change is often good.
Except when it isn’t.
Shouldn’t they try to throw another couple years at him and see what he says? Maybe it’s been tried and he’s not been open to it. But everybody wants to feel wanted. Even those with enormous contracts and swollen résumés.
Otherwise, the most obvious options are that he takes his annual soul-searching retreat and decides to operate under the final year of his contract, or go ahead and pull the plug early.
Would he leave? Sure.
My first thoughts when I heard that receivers coach Nolan Cromwell was taking a job with Texas A&M were that maybe Holmgren had advised him to bail because he was going to be on his way out, himself, in short order.
Actually, Cromwell’s departure could have nothing to do with it.
If Holmgren was currently considering coaching or administration jobs elsewhere, it seems he’d argue for Cromwell to stay with him. But even if he is leaning toward filling his last year on this contract, he might be leaving in a year anyway, in which case Cromwell’s leaving was only a matter of timing.
After the loss in Green Bay, Holmgren seemed to puddle up a little bit when answering some of the big-picture questions. Was that because he was thinking that he wouldn’t be dealing with these players anymore?
Maybe. But he’s a fairly emotional guy anyway, and the end of a season in that environment under those circumstances could get him feeling wistful even if nothing else was going through his mind.
I’m fairly certain, though, that he’s not interested in spending the entire 2008 season dealing with the inevitable career-conclusion questions. (“Coach, this will be your last game against the Cardinals, can you tell us what you’re feeling?”)
Larger issues come into play, of course, health being the most relevant.
Holmgren is a robust guy, but healthy? He’s talked on occasion about some concerns in that area. If he needs to take time off to get healthy, then he definitely should. I’m just speculating here, but it seems his health might be more an issue of fitness and energy than of job stress.
He has mentioned “challenges” as a motivator. He contends that not being allowed to stay on as Seahawks general manager left him feeling as if there’s some unfinished business in that regard.
But that’s also a lot of work, and rebuilding a franchise isn’t that much fun. And not necessarily profitable, either.
Holmgren doesn’t show me his W-4 forms that often, so I can’t report an income with certainty, but some experts have suggested he’s due to be paid $9 million this season. Compare that to the reported salary of Miami kingpin Bill Parcells, which is said to be in the $3 million range.
LINK
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports...ry/255065.html
Holmgren rumor mill: Will he stay or will he go?
Holmgren rumor mill: Will he stay or will he go?
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