Mike Holmgren
Mike Holmgren
Michael George Holmgrenis a former American football coach and executive, most recently serving as president of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. Holmgren began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowl XXIII and XXIV. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, appearing in two Super Bowls, and of the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth15 June 1948
CitySan Francisco, CA
I would think I should be able to give some sort of answer in a couple, three weeks. I want to be fair, and I don't think there's any need to rush. That's why I think I'm being kind of diligent.
We had a good game plan, and we wanted to come out passing the ball. Matt's not unlike a lot of quarterbacks who hit their first two or three passes and then are off and running.
Honestly, when Bill and I visit, we don't talk about football as much as we do about our families. He tells me about his three daughters, I tell him about my four daughters. We're both very proud of our daughters. We've both been married to our wives since college. What it shows to me is, even though this business can be difficult on families, we've got strong ones.
It usually to takes three or four years to really look back on a draft.
I was afraid I was going to break furniture and throw the monitor out the window. It's just hard because we had our chances and we didn't capitalize.
I think we made a little mistake last year not throwing him in there sooner. He would have struggled a little bit, but when he did play, he was very good.
I think we have to wait on that. Let's just wait on that to make sure that what is written and what is said is correct.
I think that can be overstated just a little bit. If you have a very untalented guy who is a high-effort guy, you are going to lose every week. You like them like that, but the better player is going to win more games for you. The trick is finding those guys that are really fine football players and really don't think they are that great; they are always trying to get better.
I think it was necessary, and now in retrospect, I'm glad I did it.
It happens, because now you're down to one game, and anything can happen in any one game. But I think if you look over percentages over the last however many years, most of the times the guys that are playing at home have the advantage. So we're choosing to look at it that way.
I thanked him for allowing the coaches to build something. In such a volatile industry, you don't always get that.
I think the world of him and I think he is a really good football player. I set the bar very high for him. Anytime he falls short of that, fair or not fair, I will talk to him about it. He is a wonderful guy ... and he wants to do well. To go with his physical ability, all the things you have to do to be a great player, it should happen for him.
I said I was going to leave it up to him, but I have to pull rank. He's going upstairs.
Our guys are ready to handle this (game) maybe better than they have handled it in the past. It's coming from the feeling I get when I go down in the locker room, and the feeling I get on the airplane and different things. They're having fun playing. The cynics aren't around here so much anymore.