Tag Archives: Mike Holmgren

Hawks renew Packers rivalry

December 13, 2024 cc Leave a comment

The 49ers were unable to knock off the Rams, who are hot on Seattle’s heels for the division title – which seems destined to come down to their Week 18 game.

The Seahawks (8-5) face the Packers (9-4) in a big Sunday night matchup, the first of two huge games against NFC North playoff teams. Both Green Bay and Minnesota (11-2) have excellent teams (top seven by EPA), and these games will show just how serious of a postseason contender the Seahawks might be.

The Seahawks and Packers have a rivalry that dates back to 1999, when Mike Holmgren was traded from Green Bay to Seattle. But they have not played for three years, so most of the faces in this rivalry are new.

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The roster, Trades

Is Howell a trade for Hasselbeck — or for Whitehurst?

March 16, 2024 cc Leave a comment

As fans across social media debate the Sam Howell trade, perhaps the best way to frame the discussion is thus: Did the Seahawks just trade for Matt Hasselbeck or did they trade for Charlie Whitehurst?

In other words, did they add a potential franchise passer or a second-tier backup? Or maybe something in between?

A few weeks ago, we set the table for the transition from holdover quarterback Geno Smith to a new QB who becomes Mike Macdonald’s guy. In that post, we retraced how Mike Holmgren landed Hasselbeck in Year 3 (2001) and how John Schneider took a swing on Whitehurst in his first year (2010), missed and didn’t get his QB until Year 3 either.

Hasselbeck turned into a franchise savior while Whitehurst was merely Clipboard Jesus. Which might Howell be?

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Contracts, The roster

History says Geno will lead the Hawks to the playoffs in 2024, then be replaced

February 5, 2024 cc 2 Comments

If history is any predictor, Geno Smith will lead the Seahawks to the playoffs in Mike Macdonald’s first season – and then be replaced shortly thereafter.

John Schneider has been involved in a new Seattle coach’s transition period with a lame-duck quarterback twice before and been instrumental in finding the franchise quarterback both times.

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Coaches

Mike Macdonald: ‘We’re gonna win a lot of football games’

January 31, 2024 cc Leave a comment

“We’re gonna be here for a long time, and we’re gonna win a lot of football games.” — Mike Macdonald to execs and staff welcoming him at VMAC

When it came down to conference title game weekend, John Schneider was pretty much guaranteed of getting one of his top two options to become the Seahawks’ next coach.

When Ben Johnson decided to stay in Detroit, Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald immediately became the favorite – even though he had yet to speak with Schneider. It happened fast: Two interviews in two days yielded a six-year contract to become the eighth full-time coach in Seahawks history.

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Coaches

Schneider’s top choice for coach is probably still in the playoffs

January 27, 2024 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks are now one of just two teams left without coaches for 2024, and some fans and analysts are wondering what is taking so long.

First, they need to understand the NFL rules around hiring a coach: Conference title game coaches could not interview this week, and teams have to interview at least two minority candidates in person as part of their process.

The Hawks have two minority candidates remaining. Las Vegas DC Patrick Graham reportedly met with John Schneider on Tuesday, and Carolina DC Ejiro Evero was set to interview with Schneider today.

Meanwhile, it seems pretty clear that Schneider still wants to talk to at least one coach from the four remaining playoff teams. Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is the obvious one, and Baltimore DC Mike Macdonald could be on Seattle’s radar as well.

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Coaches, Franchise history, State of the team

What if Carroll does get fired or retire?

December 3, 2021 cc 3 Comments

Jody Allen fired the Portland Trail Blazers’ longtime general manager Friday, leading some to speculate she might do the same with the Seahawks’ coach and/or GM after this season.

But Neil Olshey was fired for violating the Blazers’ code of conduct, not because the team may miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years. So, it seems quite unlikely Allen would fire Pete Carroll and John Schneider after one losing season, especially when she just extended both of them and neither has any personal black clouds hanging over his head.

But let’s play “What If” anyway.

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Franchise history

Holmgren, Hasselbeck started this era of winning

October 29, 2021 cc Leave a comment

With the current Seahawks in a big hole and the playoffs looking slim for 2021, it’s good timing that the team is giving fans something to cheer about by honoring the two guys who took Seattle to its first Super Bowl.

Mike Holmgren will join his longtime QB, Matt Hasselbeck, in the Ring of Honor this Sunday. Hasselbeck was honored Monday night (see his speech).

These are the two guys most responsible for bringing the franchise out of its 1990s slump, getting it to its first Super Bowl and establishing a winning culture that has persisted for two decades.

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X's & O's

Lockett: Hawks must learn and adapt

April 14, 2021 cc 4 Comments

All of the key figures on the Seattle offense have now weighed in, and Tyler Lockett hit the most important factor in the Seahawks rebounding from their dud finish in 2020: “You have to learn how to evolve; you have to learn how to adapt.”

Like Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson and DK Metcalf before him, Lockett admitted the Seahawks did not adjust well to defenses that took away their deep throws in the second half of last season. The question is whether they will all be on the same page under new OC Shane Waldron as they look to avoid a similar fate and advance deep into the postseason in 2021.

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Coaches, On the air, X's & O's

Holmgren explains how to fix the offense

January 26, 2021 cc 3 Comments

As Pete Carroll looks for Russell Wilson’s third offensive coordinator in 10 years, DK Metcalf has given his two cents about what happened to Seattle’s offense and Mike Holmgren has told us what the new coordinator needs to do to help Wilson.

Metcalf confirmed what we all saw: “Teams just started to figure us out. We’ve been running deep pass ever since Pete got there. Play-action. Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, go deep. Teams just said, ‘We’re just not gonna let you all go deep.’”

Of course, a good OC would have worked around the Cover 2 schemes that oddly stymied Wilson and Brian Schottenheimer for the final two months of 2020. Holmgren, a first-generation West Coast offense disciple, said it is on the OC to adjust.

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Franchise history, Week 2: New England

Hawks are 2-0 for 12th time, but this is not 2013

September 22, 2020 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks are 2-0 for the third time in Russell Wilson’s career and the 12^th time in franchise history.

The Hawks have made the postseason in each of the other two years Wilson led them to 2-0, 2013 and 2019, and they are 7 for 11 overall in making the playoffs after 2-0 starts.