This weekend Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver and I called the Seattle Seahawks versus Minnesota Vikings game. To be perfectly honest, at this point in the season, everyone is getting a little numb -- players, coaches, media -- because it is a long season. But I don't ever want to get so numb that I fail to do my job, which is to tell you what you cannot see for yourself.
What struck me this week is the incredible personal toll that coaching takes on, even to the most successful ones in the business. This week, we visited with Mike Holmgren before the game. Holmgren has had success everywhere he has been. He won Super Bowls with the 49ers and Packers before moving on to Seattle. After last season's near miss in the playoffs -- losing in overtime at Green Bay -- the Seahawks became this year's trendy pick to get to the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks' hot start substantiated that Holmgren had finally turned the corner with this franchise. Then a fourth-quarter collapse against the Rams seemed to rattle this young team. Last Monday night, the Seahawks blew a late lead again. This one was aided by a mistake within the replay system that failed to challenge a Keyshawn Johnson touchdown in the last two minutes of the game that should have been reversed. Only the replay official upstairs could challenge the play in the final two minutes, leaving Holmgren powerless within the rules that he helped create on the competition committee. The blown call and resulting second straight home loss appeared to leave the Seahawks in a tough spot at 6-6, with their next two games on the road against Minnesota and the New York Jets.
We met with Holmgren the night before the game against the Vikings. The usually upbeat and confident head coach looked like he had been beaten with a stick. For the first time in his coaching career, the fans and the media were openly questioning whether Homlgren was the right man for the job. Was he just a product of the great quarterbacks that he had playing for him over the years: Joe Montana, Steve Young and Brett Favre? Now that he didn't have a Hall of Fame quarterback running his offense, where was the magic? Holmgren talked openly about the toll that the season was taking on him, and more importantly on his family. He admitted that for the first time, he actually was being picked up by the players after a tough loss instead of the other way around.
For the first time since I have known Holmgren, you could see doubt in his eyes.
Later that night, I couldn't help but think of just how crazy this game is. Homgren may be fired in Seattle; Mike Shanahan has been battling speculation all year that this will be his last year in Denver; Bill Parcells has been constantly second-guessed in Dallas; Joe Gibbs has apparently lost it according to many observers in Washington. By my count, not including Super Bowls they have won as assistants, these coaches, who have accounted for eight of the 38 Super Bowl championships, are now being questioned for their ability to coach. Talk about a tough profession!
Even the coaches who are on top right now have had it tough. Bill Belichick was fired in Cleveland, Tony Dungy was fired in Tampa Bay and Bill Cowher was under intense scrutiny in Pittsburgh before this year. Fortunately for Cowher, he has an owner in Dan Rooney, who is a football man. Rooney could see that his problems went beyond the head coach. So instead of firing his coach, he fixed the problems.
In Seattle, if Holmgren is fired, he would immediately become the top choice for every other franchise looking for a head coach. Someone in Seattle needs to compile a wish list of coaching candidates to be pursued if they fire Holmgren and compare it to what they have. My guess is the speculation about Holmgren's job security would come to a screeching halt.
In case you missed it, Seattle won the game against the Vikings and is back in first place in their division. Holmgren's job is safe, at least for another week.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/7999275
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What struck me this week is the incredible personal toll that coaching takes on, even to the most successful ones in the business. This week, we visited with Mike Holmgren before the game. Holmgren has had success everywhere he has been. He won Super Bowls with the 49ers and Packers before moving on to Seattle. After last season's near miss in the playoffs -- losing in overtime at Green Bay -- the Seahawks became this year's trendy pick to get to the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks' hot start substantiated that Holmgren had finally turned the corner with this franchise. Then a fourth-quarter collapse against the Rams seemed to rattle this young team. Last Monday night, the Seahawks blew a late lead again. This one was aided by a mistake within the replay system that failed to challenge a Keyshawn Johnson touchdown in the last two minutes of the game that should have been reversed. Only the replay official upstairs could challenge the play in the final two minutes, leaving Holmgren powerless within the rules that he helped create on the competition committee. The blown call and resulting second straight home loss appeared to leave the Seahawks in a tough spot at 6-6, with their next two games on the road against Minnesota and the New York Jets.
We met with Holmgren the night before the game against the Vikings. The usually upbeat and confident head coach looked like he had been beaten with a stick. For the first time in his coaching career, the fans and the media were openly questioning whether Homlgren was the right man for the job. Was he just a product of the great quarterbacks that he had playing for him over the years: Joe Montana, Steve Young and Brett Favre? Now that he didn't have a Hall of Fame quarterback running his offense, where was the magic? Holmgren talked openly about the toll that the season was taking on him, and more importantly on his family. He admitted that for the first time, he actually was being picked up by the players after a tough loss instead of the other way around.
For the first time since I have known Holmgren, you could see doubt in his eyes.
Later that night, I couldn't help but think of just how crazy this game is. Homgren may be fired in Seattle; Mike Shanahan has been battling speculation all year that this will be his last year in Denver; Bill Parcells has been constantly second-guessed in Dallas; Joe Gibbs has apparently lost it according to many observers in Washington. By my count, not including Super Bowls they have won as assistants, these coaches, who have accounted for eight of the 38 Super Bowl championships, are now being questioned for their ability to coach. Talk about a tough profession!
Even the coaches who are on top right now have had it tough. Bill Belichick was fired in Cleveland, Tony Dungy was fired in Tampa Bay and Bill Cowher was under intense scrutiny in Pittsburgh before this year. Fortunately for Cowher, he has an owner in Dan Rooney, who is a football man. Rooney could see that his problems went beyond the head coach. So instead of firing his coach, he fixed the problems.
In Seattle, if Holmgren is fired, he would immediately become the top choice for every other franchise looking for a head coach. Someone in Seattle needs to compile a wish list of coaching candidates to be pursued if they fire Holmgren and compare it to what they have. My guess is the speculation about Holmgren's job security would come to a screeching halt.
In case you missed it, Seattle won the game against the Vikings and is back in first place in their division. Holmgren's job is safe, at least for another week.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/7999275
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