If the Seattle Seahawks ultimately decide to part ways with GM Tim Ruskell at season’s end, they might have one less candidate available.
According to Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren met with Browns owner Randy Lerner on Tuesday about the possibility of becoming head of football operations for the Browns franchise.
According to Grossi, Hall of Fame running back and former Cleveland player Jim Brown told a crowd at a luncheon in Cleveland on Tuesday that Lerner was interviewing someone who could turn around the team’s bleak future.
“At this moment, right now Randy Lerner is meeting with one of the great football minds in this country,” Brown said in remarks prior to and during the luncheon, according to the Plain Dealer report. “And if things work out, that person will come in to run the football side of the Browns.”
According to the report, Brown would not disclose who it was. When somebody asked if it was Mike Holmgren, Brown responded, “You said it … and I heard it.”
Also, the Seahawks made a minor roster move today, releasing running back Devin Moore from the practice squad and using the roster spot to add running back Xavier Omon. At 5-11, 220 pounds, Omon is a Northwest Missouri State product who was drafted in the sixth-round draft by the Buffalo Bills last season. He appeared in five games this season for Buffalo before being released last week.
Looks like the Seahawks are hoping Omon is a big back who can move the pile in short-yardage situations.
Those of you who follow the game with host Ryan Divish on Sundays on our game day chat will be happy to know that Dick Stockton and Charles Davis are calling this Sunday’s contest against Minnesota, so bottoms up to Olindo Mar-AA!
It’s the tandem’s fourth Seahawks game and sixth of the season.
And former Seahawk Jordan Kent has signed a deal with the St. Louis Rams, who have suffered a rash of injuries at wide receiver similar to what Seattle went through last season. The Rams earlier this year made a trade to bring in former Washington State product Brandon Gibson from Philadelphia.
That is all.
Oh dear god, Holmgren is going to turn that disaster of a franchise around while we’re left here sitting on our hands with Ruskell while he continues to turn the Seahawks into the joke of the NFC.
As for the Rams, better Brandon Gibson than Keary Colbert. Ugh.
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One thing Holmy would have going for him in Cleveland is 3 great pieces to and offensive line. Well, that’s about it. The Browns suck. They do have an abundance of draft picks this upcoming season though. I think they have a pick from the KII deal, a 3 and 5 from the Jets for Edwards, and I believe they have a few more extras. The best way to get better is having a bunch of draft picks (and getting most of them right).
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Cleveland could certainly benefit from the services of Mr. Holmgren. Sounds like a destination where MH will get his wish and become both GM/HC. I can’t see Mike willing to relegate his Sundays just yet to a Box Seat as does Bill Parcells. He made it clear that he still wanted to wander the sidelines but would be open to a GM offer.
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Nah, Holmgren will probably become GM and when Mangina is fired after the season he’ll hire some up and coming coach.
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Holmy just wants to go to Cleveland because he always liked Pork Chop Womack and he wants him back!
Geez, Cleveland in the winter? If I were Holmy I’d hold out for a better gig.
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FireRuskellNow: “Oh dear god, Holmgren is going to turn that disaster of a franchise around”
Fire, I love Holmgren as much as anyone, but really, I wouldn’t be so sure he’s the savior. Remember that as our GM he directed four drafts, and every single defensive player he drafted was a bust, except for Ken Lucas and Rocky Bernard. Great coach, but I’d rather have him as a coach than GM.
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Yes, but he was responsible for the best offensive years in Seahawks history. Robbie Tobeck, Steve Hutchinson, Shaun Alexander, Matt Hasselbeck, and a few other great role players were all Holmgren. These are undoubtedly some of the finest players in this franchise’s history.
And while there’s no denying he was bad at picking defense, the Super Bowl team didn’t need one because the offense got out of the gate so quickly.
It’s not as if Ruskell has turned this pitiful defensive unit around despite colossal investments and draft picks. At least with Holmgren you saw noticeable improvement, as the offense consistently ranked top 10 year in and year out.
Just watch, the Browns are no longer going to be the putrid pile of crap they are now if he’s in charge.
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Let’s assume Holmgren is offered the job, and he accepts.
Was he wise to grab this job and not see what else was out there? Is the job that attractive, or Holmgren’s prospects elsewhere that poor?
If Paul Allen weren’t sidetracked by his illness, might Allen have put out informal feelers to Holmgren to let him know he has another option?
If Cleveland picks Holmgren, maybe Holmgren’s not such a good idea (given their past track record?) Of course even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Is the Cleveland situation better than Seattle’s? Ownership is probably equal, in that money isn’t an issue for either. Fan base of Cleveland is far more devoted and dedicated, and much less fair-weather than Seattle’s. Sumg Seattleites can claim Seattle is a better place to live, but that’s Holmgren’s call. More family is in Seattle for Holmgren.
Football wise, I believe Seattle is in a more attractive position. Both franchises would potentially be firing an entire 1st year coaching staff, so that’s a wash. Cleveland also is still paying off another previous regime. For all the criticism of Mora, there’s no way the morale of Seattle players can be anything close to the disaster of Cleveland and Mangenius.
Even after a purge I do believe Seattle has more viable long term talent. Hasselbeck haters notwithstanding, Hasselbeck/Wallace/Teel is a far, far better place to be than Anderson/Brady, both next year and 2 years from now. And if nothing else, Ruskell has set up Seattle’s GM for the 2010 season with the pieces to rebuild, with 2 1st rounders, one being a probable top-10 pick and one likely in the 18 to 25 range. Don’t know about the cap situation.
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The argument to bring in Holmgren or a offense minded GM is clear… Ruskell brought in defensive talent, we have that in place. Now go Offense and balance this team out. If we had a consistent offense the defense would look a WHOLE lot better. As it is we call a conservative defense to keep the score down, Mora knows the offense can’t score enough points to win a shootout or risk a big blitz, so we just keep bleeding slowly with the hope Hasselbeck makes a big play or two and we squeak out a win. So far, it isn’t working. We need a consistent offense and you get that through the offensive line.
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Interview Holmgren NOW!
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There’s nowhere to go but up in Cleveland. Of course, it’s not like we’re on top of the world either.
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Eric, you’re stealing my posts!! lol.
“Geez, Cleveland in the winter? If I were Holmy I’d hold out for a better gig.” 7 seasons in Green Bay indicates he’s not too worried about it. And now, he gets to be cozy up in a luxury box, no sidelines.
I don’t know, I don’t actually have strong feelings about this either way. Of course there is something appealing about having him come back and finish off what he began 10 years ago. But in reality it’s time to move on. He clearly seems to be.
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If he does go to the Clowns I hope he sticks to the Steelers.
Dear Seahwks, FIRE RUSKELL
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I still don’t understand your love affair with current management, stevos. Holmgren built a team carried by an offense that destroyed Carolina in the NFC championship. Ruskell built a team carried by a defense that is destroyed on a weekly basis. Whatever pill keeps ur head so far up in the clouds, kindly share it.
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Hello, I am glad to take this job here in Cleveland. I want to start this all off by saying that I am glad to announce the signing of my first player for the Browns. Koren Robinson, please come to the podium and take a bow.
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Old senile Dick Stockton can’t even keep track of what’s going on in the game.
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I would rather hear Koren Robinson than a STATE of the Browns:
“Hello all, I’ve traded your #1 on a 5’9″ Smurf who was tagged SB MVP. He has had knee problems in the past but we’ll over look those minor set backs. And while I’m at it let me introduce your new FB fresh off an ACL tear. Not fully recovered but expect him ready for the season.”
Yeah… some hindsight. We could have drafted Ben Grubs to replace the morons (TR) major gaffe,,, the loss of Hutch!
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Maybe Holmy will trade for Hutch and pair him with Joe Thomas at LT and ride them to an eventual Super Bowl. Alex Mack is their Center, so they’d be sitting pretty in the trenches.
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I hope he will accept job so finally no one could say Bring back Homly.
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In the event Ruskell’s contract is not renewed (as many of us wish), the ‘purge’ (as someone else mentioned) should include Mora. For three solid reasons….. (1) This years’ results, they speak for themselves (2) A GM needs to be on the same page with his HC… It should be “his” guy, period (3) Many say it would not be fair to drop Mora after one year…. Well, it is clearly not just one year for him… He’s been a head coach before, tie that in with the fact he’s been here before this year, practice after practice, game after game to evaluate the Hawk talent and knowing what talent he had, should have been able to utilize it on a “coming up running” basis… It’s a big reason we all had high expectations for this year… Does anyone honestly believe he can take us through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl with what he’s shown us to this point? For me, I’d prefer to take my chances elsewhere….
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Counter to those points: 1) The year isn’t over yet. This team with (as of now) a relatively healthy roster, may show the growth and ability that most of us were expecting to see to start the year. The last 7 games will tell us more about the direction of this team than did the first 9, IMO. 2) There is no real way to predict that a new GM wouldn’t be “on the same page” as Mora. Hypothetically, they may share the same football philosophy but balance each other with different approaches or talent recognition or whatever (it’s all hypothetical). 3) What he did in Atlanta as a coach has as much relevance as any coach who has had a stint at another spot. Hopefully you learn and apply those lessons. And it’s not just a new HC in place it’s new coaches across the board (Solari, Rollins and DeHavin the exceptions, I believe) so there is without question a learning curve that takes longer than 9 games.
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I could obviously still be wrong – but i never thought Holmgren was coming back year. Just felt like he left at about the right time – and is the kind of guy looking for a clean slate to start with on his next gig – esp since he’s in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose.
Agree with Duke – that there is still plenty to be seen this year in the last 7 games. Playoffs are no longer part of the equation – but some better play (now that we are healthy, and no longer waiting for Walt, etc.) could go a long way toward determining Ruskell and Mora’s future.
Would really love to see some more aggressive playcalling on Defense, i recognize that our 0-line’s inability to protect Matt restricts how aggressively we can go downfield on O, but there’s no reason not to let things go a bit on Defense.
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Mike Holmgren has been openly saying that he will not make any decision until the end of season and let face it why got to cleveland where the owner is not a high spender Free Agent wise and coaching wise Eric Magini sucks.
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i assume if holmgren goes to Cleveland, part of his deal in going there, would be the right to replace Mangini with someone else if he wants to do so.
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There is now ‘talk’ that Ruskell is about to get a 2 year extension. Again, I don’t care one way or the other, but I wanted to prepare those of you that are going to start looking for the highest bridge/building to jump off of.
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Dukeshire-
Mora’s falcon years are extremely relevant, like you say, and the exact reason why his history+ his 9 games this year is enough to see what he is made of (nothing as a head coach) and consequently letting him go. Forget the argument of chemistry with a GM or not–Mora flat out doesn’t have what it takes to be a solid head coach and like goofy alluded to, this guy is not going to lead the hawks to the promise land–that is obvious. So then why keep him around? what gives you or any other hope in him to be playing devils advocate in the debate of keeping or cutting him?
Chuck……………i hope you’re BS-ing us. goes back to Paul Allens health though, if it happens. He’s just to preoccupied to be dealing with sports and changing GM’s would be more work than just resigning the dimwit already in charge.
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Watch, mora takes us to the SB next yr with the a top5 ranked defense. ha
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To BobbyK, BobbyA and Duke,
Tell me your reaction to drafting a DE with our first overall pick by TR if he’s resigned. Obviously there’s need and i can see it happening as pathetic as it sounds.
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Right now it seems as though there are a plethora of out of work head coaches who could come back into the league. This usually is not the case. Say we give TR and Mora+knapp another two years, it could be plenty of time to tie up the remaining decent HC’s leaving us at a dead-end with TR and company with no clear replacement that exudes enthusiasm.
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This team is extremely healthy right now, far healthier than it was last season, it just sucks. There simply isn’t much talent and you can blame Ruskell for that.
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Duke…. Not sure if you’re kidding or might be Mora’s ‘Dad’ in disguise!! LOL!!!
You have very well pointed out flaw after flaw in the coaching schemes that have been used this year, yet you defend the creator… I’m lost ….
As Variable points out in support, Mora’s Falcon years ARE a factor! They happened! Mora was often criticized for being outcoached in Atlanta. That Vick guy bailed him out many times! Ignoring that is like leaving steps off a ladder. Knowing player ability from being around last year, you have to agree, SHOULD have given him an advantage coming into the current season…. You’ve alluded to it yourself, It sometimes looks like strengths are just plain ignored…
Ya got me here…
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Chuck, another 2 years of TIT. Nooo. Let me throw a name out from the Holmgren tree for all to partake of. I’m feeling somewhat evil at the moment. Here goes… Sherman Lewis. That is correct. The same Sherman Lewis who recently took over the play calling from our beloved Jim Zorn now with the Redskins. He was OC for the Packers ’92-’99 under MH and has been out of football since 2004.
C’mon Tod Leiweke, Get ‘R’ Done!… thoughts
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variable – I don’t have a problem with drafting Derrick Morgan with our first 1st rounder. You’re right, there is a need.
I’d feel much better about our draft if Unger gets moved to C and develops continuity with LG Sims (and then Sims is resigned). I’d also feel better if Ruskell can land Jahri Evans in FA and he can take over at RG. That would make us less desparate for OL and we could handle going with a DE with that first 1st rounder if he was also the BPA. I have no problem with BPA.
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I read on KFFL a few days ago where the Browns had a meeting with Shannahan.
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