Catching up with Holmgren

RENTON — They still call him Coach Holmgren.

“He forever will be a coach,” said Cleveland coach Pat Shurmur, whose boss, Browns team president Mike Holmgren, hired him this year to re-energize the proud franchise on the field. “I think that’s a term of endearment in my opinion. He’s Coach Holmgren, you know?”

We know. This is the third season since Holmgren ended his remarkable tenure with the Seahawks on a somewhat sour note, finishing 4-12 in 2008.

What followed was talk of Holmgren possibly returning as president of the Seahawks the following season after a one-year sabbatical. But things didn’t work out, and he found the challenge he was looking for in Cleveland, accepting a job as president of the Browns in late 2009.

Still, Holmgren casts a long shadow over the franchise he took to its greatest successes during the 2000s, including four consecutive NFC West division titles and a Super Bowl appearance after the 2005 season.

He’ll get his first chance to face his former team when Seattle travels to Cleveland on Sunday.

And he wouldn’t mind his Browns taking the Seahawks to the woodshed and kicking some rear end.

“Heck, it hasn’t been that long,” Holmgren said in a conference call with Seattle-area reporters on Thursday. “So I’m encouraging Pat to do his very best in this game, yeah.”

Holmgren won’t recognize many faces when he looks across the field during pre-game warm-ups. Only seven players on Seattle’s active roster remain from the last season Holmgren spent in Seattle.

“It will be good to see him,” said Seattle linebacker Leroy Hill. “I appreciate everything he did for me. He was a great coach and a great leader and everything. But he’s what – three years removed? We’re over it. It’s the business.”

While not in charge of the daily operations of what happens on the field, Holmgren is close to the Cleveland players, quietly watching and offering a pointer or two as practice goes on, and later taking a spot up in the owner’s booth during games.

“He’s obviously not my coach but he’s definitely around and has his input,” said Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy, whom Holmgren drafted in the third round in 2010, his first draft with the Browns, hoping to develop a franchise player for Cleveland.

“We have our conversations, and I’ve really enjoyed just getting to talk to him. He knows a lot about the game, he’s been around forever, and he’s won a lot. He definitely knows what’s going on, on the West Coast (offense). He’s a great resource, great guy to talk to, and it’s really nice to have him around.”

Backup quarterback Seneca Wallace is one of two former Seattle players on Cleveland’s roster.

“We all knew what our role was on the team,” Wallace told Cleveland-area reporters when asked about the reasons for Holmgren’s success in Seattle. “Mike did a good job of making sure guys understood that from Day 1. So when you got your opportunity to play, you made sure you did what you did and did it correctly.

“We did that for several years. I think that was the key ingredient. We continued to do the same thing each year, and we didn’t have a bunch of change in players and things like that from year to year, and we continued to get better and better.”

At age 63, Holmgren has surrounded himself with some of the same cast that helped create a winning environment in Seattle, including former offensive coordinator Gil Haskell (senior adviser to the president), former receivers coach Keith Gilbertson (senior offensive assistant) and former defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes (senior defensive assistant).

Holmgren said his toughest task has been resisting the urge to pick up a play sheet and return to barking at players on the sideline.

Cleveland’s brass gave him an opportunity to throw his hat in the ring when they began the head coaching hiring process after Holmgren fired Eric Mangini in 2010. But after a day of soul searching with his wife, Kathy, Holmgren decided that his coaching days were in the past.

“Is it difficult at times for me? Absolutely,” Holmgren said. “I watch the game now from a box with a tie on, of all things. You get this feeling that I can’t do anything. I’m not helping. …

“I have no say whatsoever in the outcome of the football game. Whereas in coaching, we’re all very much control-oriented people, and you thought you could really make a difference. So it’s a challenge.”

EXTRA POINTS

Seattle first-team quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was a limited participant in practice for a second straight day, doing some light throwing during individual drills. Center Max Unger (foot) and tight end Zach Miller (head/neck) did not practice. Running back Marshawn Lynch (ankle), receiver Mike Williams (head), linebacker Malcolm Smith (hamstring) and offensive lineman Robert Gallery (groin) were full participants. … For Cleveland, several players did not practice, including linebacker Scott Fujita (head), cornerback Joe Haden (knee), offensive lineman Artis Hicks (back), running back Peyton Hillis (hamstring), defensive back Ray Ventrone (hamstring) and defensive back Buster Skrine (hip). Center Alex Mack (illness) and offensive tackle Tony Pashos (ankle) were limited. And linebacker Titus Brown (ankle), receiver Josh Cribbs (knee) and tight end Evan Moore (ankle) were full participants.

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 eric.williams@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks