The Seahawks have remained mostly silent on the team’s search for a new general manager to run the football operations of the team, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation surrounding the Seahawks, and the person at first considered the favorite to earning the job, former Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren, from percolating over the last 24 hours.
What we do know is the Seahawks have hired New York search firm Spencer Stuart to assist in the search for the team’s new general manager. Spencer Stuart is a national search firm that specializes in helping businesses find capable front office executives.
It’s customary for major companies and public entities to hire a search firm to help on this kind of task, and it says nothing about the people within the franchise capabilities of selecting a new leader. This is just what good businesses do – use all of the resources available to them to make sure they find the most qualified candidate.
According to Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post, Jed Hughes, a senior consultant with Spencer Stuart, is heading the search. Hughes is a former NFL assistant coach and knows the league. He assisted the Green Bay Packers in the team’s search for a president and general manager in 2007, with Green Bay eventually hiring Mark Murphy. He also was reportedly instrumental in the hiring of GM Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel by Cleveland, along with the hiring of coach Jim Tressel by Ohio State.
Hughes also assisted in athletic director searches for Michigan State University, Syracuse University and the University of Virginia. Find his bio here.
Lombardi’s article suggests that Hughes already has compiled a list of 10 potential candidates for the vacant GM position, and Holmgren is not on the list.
Further, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, interim general manager Ruston Webster interviewed for the position today. Again, nothing has been confirmed from the team about this interview taking place, but I can say that Webster is viewed as a potential candidate for the position, and if hired would provide the continuity within the organization that CEO Tod Leiweke covets.
NFL analyst John Clayton also provided some interesting remarks during his conversation with Brock Huard and Mike Salk of ESPN 710 Seattle today, basically saying that Holmgren has received word through an intermediary that the Seahawks will not pursue him as a candidate for the Seahawks GM position at this time.
Clayton also confirmed that Holmgren has received an offer from Cleveland to be the head of the team’s football operation, and is contemplating taking the position. You can listen to Clayton’s conversation in this audio link.
Again, most of the information from these reports is speculative and unconfirmed, but pieced together it perhaps provides bits and pieces of what is taking place behind the scenes.
I don’t think Holmgren is totally out of the running for consideration as the Seahawks GM, but it does appear that Seattle’s front office wants to perform a thorough search, and that they might be looking for a fresh pair of eyes to objectively assess how the team should address moving forward after another year of struggles on the field.
holy crap, I’ve seen it all now. Jed’s resume looks terrible on the surface and to exclude from the top 10 a guy with more respect in the league than anywhere out there – is RIDICULOUS!!!!
Sad time for Hawk fans, Tod needs to be canned. He’s obviously a pencil pushing baby with an ego too big for a TEAM that needs a leader.
Sick, disgusting. Given up on this front office officially after reading this article.
No wonder we are a laughing stock, we have corp America running our team…no football guys.
EFFU LEIWEKE
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what a joke. No wonder Seattle has never won the trophy.
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I am officially boycotting going to Qwest field.
Go Mariners, and F**K you Leiweke.
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This is garbage, any other hire than Holmgren would be a big mistake. The fans want and trust Holmgren, another GM will have to hit on all cylinders or else it will be a big we told you so from the fans!
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phil savage and romeo crennel? yeah, look how that turned out… they’re interviewing holmy.
when was the last time tressel won a bowl game? after the 2005 season.
spencer stuart is a joke.
for a while, i wanted fresh blood at the helm of the organization. when leiweke stated, “they will join us, we will not join them,” i was with it.
but after watching timmay! quit and jimmay! constantly making a fool of himself (he used to tell his atlanta team that the seahawks were soft? dude, why admit that publicly? that’s asinine), watching coordinators that refuse to change the game plan to play to the strengths of the players on the team, and after having to listen to this ridiculous mumblings of a new york-bases “search firm” what the seahawks need is respectability.
football respectability, not some corporate suit “respectability”.
i get that the nfl is a business… but there’s a reason your philadelphias and s**tsbergs and indianapolises and new englands are constantly winning teams, tough teams. respectability and football smarts brings them victory.
vmac won’t bring it to you. qwest won’t bring it to you. a head coach that believes the team is soft won’t make it happen. a ceo that is has admitted he isn’t a football guy won’t deliver.
thusly, my vote is for big mike.
and holmy, if you never make it back here, as much of a fan i am of this team, i hope your new team pounds the seahawks every time they meet… just to remind el tod-o…
some dark years may be ahead of us, fellows. i just hope this isn’t behring II: the sequel.
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I respect the front office in wanting to be thorough but at the same time what a bunch of hogwash.
With a few teams in a GM hunt we don’t have the luxury of taking our time to be thorough, Holmgren at the very least should have been interviewed by now–What would have been the harm in that? Would that not be the best example of thoroughness? What is this snobbery that is flippin palpable between leiweke and Holmgren? Did leiweke get his panties ruffled with holmgren always contemplating retirement during his last few seasons as a hawk?
I thought the annoying itch on my shoulder was gone–now it’s back in full force.
AZ’s GM probably would laugh if approached by leiweke–i can’t wait to hear names of the people on this list so coveted that they would allow Holmgren to walk to cleveland without an interview. Thorough huh, in what way??? Thoroughly being an A$$#OLE!!!!
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leiweke = whitsitt
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hey fellas–
steve kelley wrote a pretty good opinionative piece, here’s the link;
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2010536828_stevekelley18.html
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why would we hire ruskell’s b*tch webster? he’s going to bring this team down even worse then ruskell did. I officially hate being a seahawks fan
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I think he’s been reading my posts here on the TNT!!! Looks like your fan base is spreading into the competition Eric–not bad.
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I wasn’t around when Holmgren was last fired as Seahawks GM, so I don’t know the circumstances that surrounded that. Did something change that would make him a better GM now? I definitely appreciate him as much as anyone else for his accomplishments as a coach, but it didn’t work last time and it’s tough to understand why we should expect something better this time around.
I also don’t understand the relationship between being a great coach and being a great GM. Maybe it happens a lot more than I realize, but it seems like there are two entirely different skillsets in play, and are sometimes in conflict. As the late, great Mitch Hedberg once said “yeah you’re a great cook, but can you farm?”
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Their not looking for fresh pair of eyes their looking for someone that will follow Idiot Moron Todd Leweki Advice and go through what he said and be a yes man with no gahona’s.
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repeat post:
BlueTalon says;
“I repeat my thesis “.
Sorry buddy–it seems as though you are slightly confused, this is the TNT seahawks blog not to be confused with your english 101 class. Are we suppose to be impressed with your poor interpretation of what we are saying in regards to true reality vs your obfuscated reality? Your last post isn’t even worth the adenosine triphosphate it would take to type out a response.
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Is it possible for one of you to explain to me, rationally and clearly with specifics why there is so much anger here? I am clearly missing something.
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It’s simple Duke,
Holmgren may sign on to become the Cleveland Browns “savior” instead of the Seahawks. What has people especially angry is that Holmgren has offered to give the Seahawks the home-town discount for his services, and Seattle brass has ignored him.
To most of us, Holmgren (with help) saved the Seahawks and brought us to the Super Bowl. Many see him as the difference between respectibility and the Detroit Lions West… Right or wrong, we could do MUCH worse than future HOF Coach Mike Holmgren running our football operation.
At least interview the man, jeez.
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In defense of Savage, he purposedly stripped the team of a lot of cancerous talent this past year and turned it into draft picks. Now he’s not going to be around to use them. Holmy is going to have a bunch of extra picks in the coming draft. That must appeal to him as well. We all know the proper way to build a team is through the draft and he’s got an unfair advantage of picks coming up compared to other teams (not in the form of 1st rounders, but the other rounds). And rookie draft picks usually don’t all contribute right away so look out for the Browns in ’11.
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OK, I’m with Duke, a little too much anger here.
We fans have not been inside VMAC headquarters for the last few years. But it is becoming pretty obvious that there was quite a bit of internal termoil going on there.
I stated before and was slapped down for having the nerve to talk blasphamy against the next coming of Jesus, Ghandi, and the male verson of mother Terresa (er, Holmgren), that my reading of what was and was not being said that it appeared that the powers that be want a full house cleaning in the FO.
It is becoming more and more obvious that there was a big power struggle going on inside those walls and that Holmgren is viewed as part of the problem and not the solution.
Will he be a good GM? Possibly. But when you have what appears to be open internal warfare which has lead to a totally disfunctional operation you get rid of ALL the potential cancers not just the one (Ruskell) that is the most visible.
The team is pretty clear they want all of the Ruskell guys and all of the Holmgren guys gone so they can bring in someone who will staff the FO with HIS guys from top to bottom.
We fans may not like it because Holmgren is god (to some on here) but you have at least take a step back from the ledge and view rationally what is quickly becoming the thought process. Total house cleaning and not declaring one person in the power struggle as the victor.
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Nevermind the Savage comment. They change leadership around there too much to keep ‘em all straight. They are a joke and Holmgren is going to definitely change that. There’s going to be a lot of hate on this blog in 2-3 years if the Browns are good and the Seahawks, are, well, the Seahawks of the last few years.
Good businesses also like to cut costs when they can. I don’t see hiring some firm as good business when you have a GM candidate like Mike Holmgren staring you in the face. Just my opinion.
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Sac_94 – Home town discount? Where has that ever been reported? I understand people want Holmgren and that he wants the job. And you’re right, they could do a lot worse. However, there seems to be an inordinate amount of anger directed toward someone who people know very little about. It’s not as if they’ve bought it a slew of candidates and Holmgren was left out. They haven’t spoken to anyone, yet. I think the reaction to firing Leiweke when the process has just begun, is absolutely ridiculous. In addition, they know what they have in Holmgren and perhaps they do not like what some of those things are. My impression is that there is a disconnect, at best, between Holmgren and others in the front office. And those internal relationships are things we, as fans, are not privy too. I just think we all need to relax the death grip that is strangling the panic button and allow the process to play out. The Seahawks are not the Lions nor will they become them. Significant changes are coming and they should not be rushed into, IMO.
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Chuck – didn’t mean to reiterate you post, I was tying mine as yours went up.
Sac_94 – Thank you for offering at least, an explanation to the rancor toward Leiweke.
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I don’t see the need for Leiweke hate either. I can see where people piece things together and come to the conclusion there was, perhaps, some behind the scenes friction with Holmgren. If that’s the case, I can see it as a reason he’s not being pursued harder. I don’t know. I’m willing to see what the new GM does and go from there. I don’t have time to hate that much until the time comes for hating (like doing something so stupid as to not give Hutch the franchise tag).
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Holmgren was a big part of our identity I think.. I’m angry that the Hawks no longer have one. Having Holmgren back would give me hope that my team would once again win a division and possibly a Superbowl. I just don’t have the confidence required to follow the present brain trust. I’m very upset that this comes at a time when Paul Allen is so sick. Holmgren represents some stability and familiar that I would like going forward. I may not agree 100% with him but I for one respect him. The changes have not been seamless as Ruskell and others reported. With that being said I am skeptical at best when it comes to the Hawks Organization picking a new GM with the present men in charge.
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To back what your saying BobbyK, Steve Kelley’s article confirms that Holmgren and Leiweke had a good relationship, so its doubtful that he would block his return.
The problem isn’t necessarily with the man Tod Leiweke or what he thinks, its the approach he and his staff are using. If you think Mike Holmgren MIGHT be the right choice, bring him in and interview him for the position. If not, ok – but prepare yourselves for the wrath of the 12th man. It may not be right, but whoever gets the job will forever be held against Holmgren’s super bowl team. If the o-line doesn’t dominate like in ’05 then it SUCKS. If the defensive front doesn’t lead the NFL in sacks like in ’05 than our d-line SUCKS. These may be impossible comparisons, but they will happen. At least understand, as ownership and leadership, that the fans look at him as the savior and he would put butts in the seats. Further, prepare for some dark times if we don’t return to glory quickly because the 12th man will feel disrespected. Our savior was there, we passed, we are the Detroit Lions will be the mentality. And lord help us if the Walrus has success wherever he lands…
Duke,
As far as the “home-town discount” – what I meant was interest – we know Seattle’s his 1st choice all other things being equal.
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variable575, did you just select an out-of-context partial quote from another thread and post it here so you could make fun of it? How lame is that? Are you really that insecure? Do you have to pump yourself up by setting up others to insult? *
Telling me that the post you snipped a quote from was not worth responding to as you were responding to it was pretty damn funny. I think the irony of it sailed right over your head. Frankly, I suspect you’d have a hard time thinking your way out of a wet paper bag. Do you realize the Steve Kelly article you linked to says in it that Leiweke likes Holmgren? Full quote:
“I believe CEO Tod Leiweke knows what he’s doing. I’ve seen him work his magic with both the Seahawks and Sounders. I know he likes and respects Holmgren.”
As part of the diatribe-spewing anti-Leiweke crowd, I’m surprised you’d link us to something like that. I conclude you either didn’t read it thoroughly, or you didn’t think clearly (assuming you even tried).
* For those interested, the entire paragraph variable575 selected an out-of-context quote to lampoon:
“variable575, Ruskell was supposedly the problem. He’s out, now Leiweke is the problem? Let’s assume for a moment Leiweke gets canned. Where does this shared culpability end? Paul Allen shares culpability, as do others. Do you go after him, too? I repeat my thesis — people didn’t start screaming for Leiweke’s head until after it looked like he wasn’t pursuing Holmgren. If shared culpability was ever the issue, people would have been calling for his head right along with Ruskell’s for a long time. They wouldn’t have just started recently.”
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I think that is a really good point, eyeland. For a lot of people who have come to be fans of the team while Holmgren was here, he is a huge part of this teams identity, still. And I think there is good reason to be skeptical that Mora and OC. will direct this team to the success he brought the city. I understand that it’s tough to let go, but for now, he is. Maybe he will come back, as unlikely as that looks right now, we don’t know yet. The conversation here by a so many, reads just like the 5 stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Right now most are at step 2. Trust me, things will get better. What this franchise is doing reads like a total overhaul (yes that will include Mora, IMO) and that will take a couple years, at least that’s my impression.
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Guys,
The Seahawk EC is going about this in the right way. A panic move toward Holmy is not the answer, and I’m not convinced he should be the guy. A great coach who is polished with the media doesn’t necessarily translate into GM success. Let them complete the “process” and find their man for the right reasons. Team history isn’t one of those reasons.
They might end up with the next Jack Z. No one was initially excited about that hire, or Wak, for that matter, but it’s turning out fine.
Mike’s ego is showing, and I don’t think the FO needs that right now. I grew up and went to school with Mora, and nothing about his reaction to the team or the way he’s communicating it surprises me right now. But if you want to see dysfunction, put Holmgren back in the building with Mora as HC. That would be icky and confusing for everyone in house.
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Sac_94, you have a very good point — following in the footsteps of anyone great (in any field, not just in the NFL) is usually a recipe for disaster for the one doing the following. I think in this case, however, that rule doesn’t quite apply, for a couple of reasons.
One: We are a year removed from Holmgren. Even though he left as a coach, there is still an interim period between his presence in VMAC and the new GM hire. So whoever the new guy is, he won’t be the guy following Holmgren, he’ll be the guy following the guy who followed Holmgren.
Two: As evidenced by the level of vitriol on this page, some people are going to complain no matter what, and no amount of change or facts or improvement are going to change that. Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re miserable.
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Chuck- If The Seahawks really want to clean out all of the Ruskell guys, why is Webster not only in the running, but the 1st interview. I wish Holmgren well. I just hope Leiweke knows what he’s doing for all of our sakes.
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Maybe this search firm can help us hire a GM as good as Clevelands Savage and we can draft even more busts than Ruskell drafted!
Seahawks: Fire Tod Leiweke now! He may be a nice guy and a good business man but he is clueless when it comes to football!
He wants continuity? Tod, how are the current state of things working for you?
Shake it up!
Mr Allen, if you put your trust in Tod L and his corporate search firm than you can kiss us fans goodbye as we watch you waste draft picks.
I can only hope next year the hawks get Locker because I am sure continuity will get us the # 1 pick. We will be worse than the Rams!
Ready for TV blackouts Seahawks fans?
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Is there any info. on or link to who the 10 candidates are?
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1. Chuck Knox first brought respectability to the Seahawks.
2. Said it before–Holmgren’s record was the same as Ericson’s when they had played the same number of games, and Ericson worked for Behring and Holmgren for Allen.
And wouldn’t we have gotten to the playoffs Ericson’s last year if Testaverde’s “touchdown” had been called right in the last game?
3. I like Ericson’s wins in the AFC better than the wins in the NFC West, by and large. Every game was up for grabs in a much tougher division.
4. For those disgusted with Knapp’s predictability (including me), tell me honestly that you couldn’t predict Holmgren much of the time.
5. I don’t care how great a coach he is/was, I hope to God that I will never again have to hear about what Kathy wants, or how she feels, or what decision “they” will come to. I’m sure she is a wonderful lady, but enough.
6. Who are you guys on this post that know the inner machinations of the Seahawks and the NFL, and the feelings and the motives of everyone involved? Why aren’t you on TV with Kiper and Glaser and the other “experts”.
I do respect Holmgren as a coach and believe he should be a HOF’er, but it is time to move on, IMO.
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Bue Talon – it was not until recently that we found out Leiweke was not even considering Holmgren for the position. We did not know until recent that Leiweke would not re-up Ruskell. And we didn’t even know that Holmgren would accept a FO position. I, for one, thought he wanted to return to the sidelines. It looks to me like he changed his mind to accommodate the Hawks and Leiweke regurgitated his prior accomplishments.
Whats this about house cleaning? “Join us” and Ruston Webster is the front runner. Mora and Co will live to see another day.
Some need a History lesson on Mike Holmgren “The Great Walrus”
C_Hawk GM Mike Holmgren Timeline
http://www.google.com/gwt/x?q=mike+holmgren+demoted+as+gm&ct=res&oi=blended&sa=X&ei=00crS7jkEJ2IrAOgscCSAQ&cd=2&resnum=2&hl=en&source=m&rd=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fblogmedia.thenewstribune.com%2Fmedia%2FHolmgren%2520GM%2520Timeline.htm
“The Great Walrus” Resume
http://www.google.com/gwt/x?q=mike+holmgren+demoted+as+gm&ct=res&oi=blended&sa=X&ei=VFYrS8DVIpnKqwO0z_iSAQ&cd=4&resnum=4&hl=en&source=m&rd=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMike_Holmgren
How Tim Ruskell came to B
http://www.google.com/gwt/x?q=seahawks+bob+ferguson+wiki&ct=res&oi=blended&sa=X&ei=IEUrS8jYLomSrQOHyrmSAQ&cd=2&resnum=2&hl=en&source=m&rd=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seattlepi.com%2Ffootball%2F208006_hawk15.html
I’m sure there are better reads if anyone would like to add. I would appreciate it.
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Agreed PHXHawk and Duke. Lots of Chicken Littles on the blog thinking they have some shred of credibility or insight instead of just emotion.
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Well I hope people can find a way to sit back and watch this stuff play out. A lot of jumping to conclusions.
In my opinion, among the main reasons Holmgren will not be coming back is exemplified by his current choices he in making in seeking the VP job in Cleveland. He wants Parcells-style total control, VP of Ops/football Czar who will rebuild the organization. Truth is, Mike Holmgren has never attempted such a job and no one knows whether he will be good at it. Good luck to him, but clearly the Seahawks organization as a whole already made the determination they will be more successful via a different plan. Holmgren gave an ultimatum in the form of a deadline. He took himself out of the pool for the Seahawks GM job.
Some of us, myself included, would like to see Holmgren hired in Seattle and given total control. But the organization already has moved past considering that. They are the football pros and they have already committed to a plan. From the popularity standpoint, bringing back Holmgren would have been easy for them. They know fans would have cheered this.
But we pay the FO to make the smart decisions that eventually build a winner, not the popular decisions that satisfy our knee-jerk reactions. I’ve seen a lot of jokes here about which one of us knuckleheads would make the best GM for the Hawks, but at some point we should all be glad that men who have worked every day of their professional lives in football are the ones working out the new plan, not us. Tod Leiweke has managed three winning and profitable pro sports franchises. Who else here has done that?
I think its time to stop blaming the Seahawks FO about this. Holmgren isn’t interested in meeting them half-way. He isn’t interested in just being a team’s GM. He’s on a different path.
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I’m not looking for arguments here, since everyone is so stressed about current team events…
But as a Hawk fan, I have to argue with this nonsense about the Seahawks being ‘Detroit West’. No chance. We have a number of young and improving players, particularly on defense. Our roster looks a lot more like San Francisco 2008 or Denver 2008 than like Detroit. This team can be rebuilt and will come back.
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Interviewing Webster is just standard form in the NFL, you pretty much always interview the guys who are assistants when the guy above them goes away. Add to that the fact that he’s already here, and many of the people on the list are still engaged in the end of the season for other teams, it’s logical he’s the first one interviewed. (I have a sneaking suspicion that they’ve had explicit talks with Mike Holmgren directly, actually, but that’s just a hunch.)
I also think interviewing Webster is smart from an end of season avoid drama fest perspective. You want the Ruskell and Holmgren guys who are actively working on this team to keep working, and not think that the axe is going to fall.
Put it this way — if they said “No, we’re not interviewing any of the current staff for promotions” — do you think they’d get a good result? Talk about a poisonous atmosphere at VMAC!
FWIW, if they were going to fire Mora, and hire a new head coach, hiring Mike Holmgren could make some sense and would be a compelling story line if you could team him up with a good HC, someone that he’s worked with before, and a good GM. If they plan to keep Mora for another year, you absolutely cannot hire Mike as his boss.
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rramstadm, good point. Its pretty standard in a lot of organizations to give internal candidates the first interview, even if its just a courtesy interview.
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I’m pretty ambivalent about Holmgren. As a GM, his drafts were boom or bust. That was good in that we ended up with some high end talent. But he was terrible at the rest of the draft which left us prone to failure with any injury. Ruskell came in and shored up the middle and bottom of the roster, which made it possible for the ’05 run. But he never drafted the big Pro Bowl talent because he was too risk averse (4 year starter, solid, character guys). So both had their faults, and neither really won anything without the other.
Ideally we may be able to find someone who will be a little more risky in the draft talent area, but not such a boom or bust drafter. And maybe someone who builds defense through the draft and NEVER SIGN A FREE AGENT RUNNING BACK…
I’m willing to let this thing play out and see what happens. If they sign Holmgren, that’s fine. If not, I’ll give the other guy a shot. I do think they’re screwed either way. If they sign Holmgren, the head coach is screwed living in his shadow (especially since most of the guys on the team played for Holmgren). If they don’t sign Holmgren, the fans are going to cry foul because he’s a saint.
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Tod buddy, you want continuity? With the last two years’ train wrecks? Are you on crack?! OMG
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Laying in the weeds while the process unfolds is probably the smart thing to do. No matter what, I’m going to root for the new GM and hope he can improve the talent. You can only be so good if you’re coaching bad players. I’m not saying coaching isn’t important (it definitely is!), but you’ve gotta have the horses to run the race too. Good coaching can’t take a bad team to the Super Bowl. It can only make a bad team average. And an average team to being an above average team. And an above average team to being a very good team, etc…
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Dr. Dukeshire,
Okay this is one of the funniest damn things I’ve read on here in quite some time. And, what makes it so funny is that you’re absolutely right! LOL
“The conversation here by a so many, reads just like the 5 stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Right now most are at step 2. Trust me, things will get better. ”
Of course, that process assumes that the sufferers survive all five steps:
1-800-SUICIDE “Let Someone Know Your Pain…”
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I partly hope for Holmgren so he’d bring Gruden with him. I respect him as a coach. Tampa has gotten pretty terrible after getting rid of him (and that was even after doing some things like trading for KII). He had so-so teams play above their heads (for the most part… and please don’t put words into my mouth about how I don’t understand they never finished last in their division either). We need that.
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Yeah, Duke, the 5 stage thing was pretty good!
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hardens_quickly, to be fair, Ruskell only had one chance to draft in the early part of the first round, so your point about him not drafting big Pro Bowl talent players because of his risk-averse-ness is really only an observation about what he did in one draft, not what he did as a pattern.
excile, that was exactly my point! Once Ruskell stepped down, Holmgren immediately became the favorite among many (not all) Seahawks fans, and only when it looked like the Seahawks were not going to pursue Holmgren did this entire tirade start. variable575 was trying to say that the current angst about Leiweke was about his shared accountability in the Seahawks sucking for the past couple of years. But people have been calling for Ruskell’s head on a platter for quite a long time. My point was that if variable575 was right, that this was all about shared culpability for running the Seahawks into the ground, then people would have been calling for Leiweke’s head for the past couple of years as well, and that simply hasn’t happened. The Leiweke lynch mob got started because of the non-pursuit of Holmgren.
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From the tone of many of the comments on this board, I would have said they are stuck at stage three.
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The ONLY good thing about this situation is that Holmgren will not be in the NFC West.
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Hey, with any luck, maybe Holmgren will trade for Seneca Wallace like he did for Hass. Let’s hope that both Holmgren and Ruskell get GM positions because it will give us an opportunity to pick up some draft choices while unloading some dead weight.
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Hey…is that step 3?
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I don’t think you can blame Jed Hughes for Cleveland’s hiring of Fred Savage and Crennel. Afterall, who else in their right minds would want to work for the Browns?!
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This sounds like the movie Major League. A bunch of bumbling idiots purposely ruining a team. I understand if you want to be thorough with your search but I don’t unerstand why they couldn’t just interview Holmgren. I’m not with all of the people who say that Holmey is the obvious choice here but this sends the message to every bigtime candidate out there about the loyalty the Seahawk “whiteshirts” have to someone who took them on their best run as a franchise. If what Holmgren did wasn’t enough to get at least a look then what could any other candidate for the job possibly consider success? Maybe they’re just trying to run this team into the ground and move it to somewhere closer to um … Oklahoma. That’s it! The Oklahoma Seahawks!
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Leiweke seems to be desperately trying to appear to be in control of a situation that he has lost control of. “Executive search firm?” This is a joke.
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BlueTalon–
You seem to be stuck on the idea that the timing of complaints is a clear indicator that any grumbling about leiweke carries little or no weight—otherwise you would make such points. Are you kidding, because people didn’t complain about Leiweke earlier such complaints are not valid??? A lot of people in the media are scratching their collective heads because of how odd it seems that the hawks do not show a stronger pursuit of holmgren. Leiweke is at the helm of the search(and the one who hired ruskell) and so it begs to question his effectiveness at the position.
Moving out of this topic of Leiweke(temporarily of course) we’ll wait and see what happens. Hopefully we get a GM that his very name commands respect and not some unknown–like Webster.
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Why is it that our FO is so desirous of “consistency”? Since 2005 we are 9-7, 10-6, 4-12 and (projection) 6-10 without a sniff of the play-offs since 2007.
Is this what we are desiring to consistently become? 10-22 in 2 years? Huh? I would be fired if I consistently performed with a 45% success rate in 2 years.
I’m not saying Holmgren is the guy and I don’t have a problem with passing on him but I don’t get the “they’ll be joining us” thing. In case noone has noticed, WE SUCK AT EVERY PHASE OF THE GAME!
I would think we would be looking for someone to come fix what is clearly broken. Not settle into the mediocrity that is rampant at the VMAC.
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Also,
The Hawks are conducting an internal audit as means to go along with the process of figuring out all who are responsible for the hawks fall. That is exactly what hawks fans have been doing, discussing one persons contribution to the dismal reality of the hawks and moving to the next. Apparently bluetalon has an issue with such processes.
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tillman,
A 10-22 record is equal to a winning percentage of 31%…not 45%.
I really don’t understand the reluctance by Allen/Leiweke to hire Holmgren…the man brings instant credibility to a franchise, has a large coaching tree that he could hire, is a great face for public relations, and is adept at picking future QBs. Oh yeah…and he is motivated to atone for all the mistakes that Ruskell made. How better to stick it to his dear, old friend, Timmay?
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Ruston Webster sure wouldn’t be a fresh pair of eyes to anlayze the Seahawks. Expect more poor drafts and player personnel picks if he is selected to replace Ruskell. After all, he was player personnel director and was involved in the past five years draft picks. As a result, the offensive line (specifically the LT position) was completely overlooked. If Leiweke were smart about keeping butts in the seats and returning the Seahawks to their former glory, not only would Holmgren be on that list, he would be the prohibitive favorite.
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Hire Holmgren or not.
I’d think he at least deserves an interview or to be in the running.
How many “qualified” GM’s are out there that are worth beans?
If they were so good they’d be employed already.
Thinking we are on a slippery slope right now and it’s not up
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What I don’t understand is why so many here view Holmgren as the only possible option for us. I know many are saying, “Why not at least interview him?” But wasn’t it just a year ago he was still here? I mean, if any team knows Holmgren’s philosophy and tendencies on personnel decisions, it’s us, right? Really, what on earth could Holmgren say in any interview with the team that hasn’t already been made clear during his 10 years as coach (and his time as GM)? We know what we would get with Holmgren – the FO knows, the fans know, everyone knows – and the team has decided that stepping backward to 1999 isn’t what they want to do.
It was under Holmgren that we had our greatest success when everything came together perfectly in 2005. But it was also under Holmgren that we had one of the worst defenses in the league year after year. It was under Holmgren that we earned the reputation of a soft, finesse team (whether that reputation was deserved or not).
If Holmgren returned, it would not bring Hutch back. It wouldn’t shave 10 years off of Walter Jones. It wouldn’t unretire Tobeck. And I think that’s how people are viewing Holmgren right now… they’re pining for the glory days of only a few years ago, and they think that bringing Holmgren back in a capacity in which he didn’t excel will somehow return us there. Personally, I don’t think there’s a remote chance of that happening if we brought him in as GM.
By saying no to Holmgren, the Hawks have decided that they are going to try to cut ties with the past. They’re saying they don’t want to take a step backward. Because while there was one great season, there were 9 other seasons that disappointed – they were perpetually the team that couldn’t get over the hump, even though they seemed to have the talent. So I have no problem with the team ending that chapter of our history and trying to establish something new, rather than taking us back to a situation where we were among the “good, but not elite” ranks in the league.
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riot613, why is it people automatically jump to that conclusion? Look, this is simple. The Seahawks have made it clear it will be a thorough, deliberative process. The only message it sends to potential candidates (other than Holmgren perhaps) is that it will be a thorough, deliberative process. You have to do a whole lot of mental leaping to get from that to sending a message about loyalty. The Seahawks and Holmgren apparently have different priorities and goals, there’s no evil intent or lack of loyalty involved in that. The Seahawks apparently have their list of ten candidates, at least at this phase of the process. Out of those, I don’t know how many will consider the job, and I don’t know how many the Seahawks will seriously consider, but that’s how the process works.
I can tell you this with certainty — your fear that no good candidates will be wiling to consider the Seahawks GM job is absolutely unfounded. As a matter of fact, I predict we will attract more candidates than Cleveland or anyone else that’s looking for a GM. We have great ownership, great facilities, two picks in the first round next year, and the region is appealing to most people who spend any time here. I guarantee that potential candidates will not look at the situation here the same way you or most people here do.
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variable575 says: “You seem to be stuck on the idea that the timing of complaints is a clear indicator that any grumbling about leiweke carries little or no weight—otherwise you would make such points. Are you kidding, because people didn’t complain about Leiweke earlier such complaints are not valid??? A lot of people in the media are scratching their collective heads because of how odd it seems that the hawks do not show a stronger pursuit of holmgren. Leiweke is at the helm of the search(and the one who hired ruskell) and so it begs to question his effectiveness at the position.”
You need to read what I wrote more carefully before responding. I didn’t say the timing of b*tching about Leiweke indicates the complaints have little/no weight or are invalid. What I said is the reason for the bitching isn’t what you said it was. You said it was about shared culpability for how the team had been run down. But the timing belies that. Nobody ever said anything about Leiweke until after Holmgren wasn’t being actively pursued. However, there would be little-to-no b*tching about Leiweke at all if the Seahawks had made it known they were planning on considering Holmgren for the job. That tells me the reason for the complaints is not shared culpability, as you earlier claimed — had that been the reason, the people complaining about Ruskell for the past few years would have been complaining about leiweke too. The real reason for the complaints is the non-pursuit of Holmgren. Hopefully you can understand it this time, because I don’t think I can explain it any clearer.
Now, whether the complains have weight or not, whether they are valid or not, that is a separate question. I happen to think they are not valid. I think that because the process hasn’t even really started yet, because nobody knows the thought processes of Leiweke or anyone else in leadership, because Holmgren is not the only person that knows anything about football, and because most of the people complaining seem to be frothing at the mouth as they do it.
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BlueTalon is still here??? Your posts are not even worth reading a once let alone twice. This discussion is over, it’s obvious your in the basement trying to make sense of what i’m saying from the top floor.
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You should get your money back for your education. It obviously hasn’t done you any good.
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