Ruskell v. Holmgren 2.0

When Holmgren was "unsuccessful" at GM, he was both GM and Head Coach. Now I can't say that I've held either one of those positions in the NFL, but it does seem to me that they are both full time jobs.

If Holmgren were to return as GM, I don't think it would necessarily be hazardous to Mora's tenure, but I doubt that Knapp would be around for long.

I wasn't impressed with Holmey's handling of the draft, but I also think that the O-Line wouldn't be in such tatters if Holmey was GM. If Paul and Co. think the Return of Holmey is best for the team, than I'm down with it.

Lets not underestimate the impact of having Whitsitt in Holmy's grill the first time around too. He definitely had room for improvement his first go-round, but if he got another chance,...and had to just worry about the GM duties,..hell who is to say he couldnt be successful.

Much as I like Holmgren, I see a whole bunch of red flags here. He's really never shown a knack for choosing defensive personnel. The dynamic with the current coaching staff would probably be awkward. He's at roughly the same stage of life that Bill Parcells was when he would work a job for about five minutes and then burn out. Holmgren had his day, now it's time to do the color commentator tour.

Are we going backwards here? When Holmgren came here initially, he was a 51 year old coach fresh off a good run with Green Bay. Now, he'll be a 62 year old taking over the team. Do we want to have a 70 year old GM in 8 years or do we maybe want to think about getting younger? There was criticism that the game had pass Holmy by when he was coach. That situation if true, will only get worse as he ages more.

I think Holmgren would be a good GM if he devoted the time. He knows now that picking defense is a weakness and can get an asistant GM to help and train to take over after he retires.

The biggest plus of Holmgren is his knowledge of how winning organizations run. He has won everywhere he's been. He will not tolerate losing or losing attitudes. That alone can make a positive difference.

And lets face it. Ruskell was not our first choice when we made it. If you remember we moved too slowly in acquiring a new GM and we picked Ruskell after all the A+ talent was off the shelf. Maybe Ruskell can learn from his mistakes and be what we need but do you want to chance it as we bleed fans and enthusiasm?

Well some here are known to want losses for the better draft pick next year.I would not hold it against anyone who was ...well, wanting to lose for a better GM. We almost did that already at home against the Lions very poor game. A loss at the Rams would go a long way to help with the run Ruskell out of town band wagon.any way you look at it Mike Holmgren must be having one hell of a good time as Ruskell fights for his GM job with no one to point the finger at. For me I just ask myself what would Ruskell bring on the open market. Well thats what he is worth.

We all know this to be fact. It would put a spark back in Hasselbeck, Trufant, Tatupu, hopefully Jones, and others etc. Holmgren might be old, but his discernment for great offensive players would be much needed on this team. Guaranteed he would pick the right QB for our future. He would gather the right men for our O-line. He would choose the right RB for our scheme. Holmgren is an offensive genius! I wouldn't be surprised if he has done a tremendous amount of thinking about what he could have done differently with his so called West Coast Offense. If he was given another shot at GM, guaranteed he would make sure that success is a priority. I loved Holmgren when he was our coach. Yes, there were many times of frustration, but there were much, much more memorable times of excitement, laughter, and happy tears of our team winning...with Holmgren. We had a chance as fans to see our beloved team in the playoffs and the Super Bowl...with Holmgren. I have thought about a few teams out there that have been very loyal to there coaches. The two that stand out to me with up and down records are Jeff Fisher(Tennessee Titans) 15 years, and Andy Reid(Philadelphia Eagles) 10 years. If Bill Cowler were still coaching I would have thrown him in the mix also. These guys have had amazing careers with their teams all because of the loyalty from the front office and their fans. The biggest mistake that occurred during Holmgren's time here was Paul Allen's hiring of Tim Ruskell. If I was Paul Allen during that that time I would have made sure that the next guy brought in here would have at least had great relations with Holmgren. If I recall there were a few names given by Holmgren for consideration to the GM spot. Anyway, I truly believe that Holmgren needs to comeback and finish what he started. As GM or coach, Holmgren's presence would ignite this team towards greatness.

Holmgren picked up Hasselbeck, Alexander, Hutchenson, D.Jack, Stevens (laughable now- but in 05 he had a great season)It's widely known that our superbowl run in 05 was credited to Holmgren's pick ups as a GM than any other GM. I'd give him a shot over Ruskell any day. Don't let the door hit him on the a$$ on the way out!

I am not 100% behind Holmy, but there is no quesion we need to build our offense.I would much rather have holmy do it than ruskell.I would even go so far to say that I would rather have him over ruskell reguardless of just the offense needinga rebuild, but our whole team does.
The biggest drawback with holmy is I think he would keep mora. That is a huge mistake.Mora didnt do squat in atlanta, besides being inconsistant( sound famliar?)and is doing the same here. The other is keeping seneca. I think we have seen his best, and he came up too short(pun intended).
So, who do I want Holmy or Ruskell, Holmy hands down.
I know there are better gms out there, but I am not sure that they ar an option.

The "Jaws" theme music is getting louder form the north. Can hear Holmgren circleing the VMAC form AZ. This is gonna happen people Mark my words, lock it up, My feeling is Paul Allen is a business man and 4- 12 teams dont keep A$$$ in the seats, There is alot at stake here. TR isnt keeping the company Logo front and center. Holmgren does. Period.

Ruskell's moves have been "win now" moves, which would be fine if the team was good, but he has failed miserably to build with any eye toward the future. Thus, I believe he has failed in both his short and long-term contruction of the team. I don't know if Holmgren is the answer, and would seriously hope that the decision makers would do some serious shopping and turn over every stone to find the right GM. Either way, I think Ruskell has got to go.

Steve Walsh, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Trent Dilfer, Matt Hasselbeck...all had either their careers resurrected or their best season (or both) with Holmgren as their head coach, QB coach or offensive coordinator. The most pivotal decision this team will make in the next 2 seasons will be finding Hasselbeck's replacement and I can't think of a single person I would feel more comfortable doing that then Holmgren. The one caveat I would add is that he needs to bring in a solid defensive talent evaluator to help with that side of the ball.

I don't think that Holmgren should be the choice at GM, personally I didn't think he was a very good GM but at least he knew how to build an O Line. Holmgren and Ruskell are very diffrent from each other, both made some very good choices and both made very bad choices. I would like to see us go in a different dirrection completely, I have no idea who is going to be out there at the end of the season but I am sick and tired of having people like Holmgren ( cares about offense ) or Ruskell ( cares about defense ) Holmgren seemed to have a soft spot in his heart for head cases ( Stevens, K-Rob, Simmons and so on) and Ruskell only picks high moral guys even if they are worthless ( Jennings, Wilson, Tapp and so on). Both were unalbe to give up on a mistake they made no matter how much it hurt the team. I want someone who is more in the middle who cares about both offense and defense someone who will take a chance on talent but also cares about having team players as well and someone who wont hurt the team because they are afraid of admitting a mistake.

If there is change at the Seahawks' GM position, it won't be Holmgren being asked to come back. That is certain. What you may find is the team's ownership asking a (yet not discussed) different superstar GM to join. It is a very desirable organization.

Much will depend on how the team finishes, but I suspect that Ruskell gets a one or two extension. If the team loses this Sunday and/or finishes poorly, all bets are off. Ruskell has had the time to build this team. In the end, the record counts most.

ruskell hater,

You are right, Holmgren as a GM will not get ride of Jimmy Moron. Even though Jimmy is the biggest joke as a coach. I am still puzzled by ruskell hiring him as Holmgren replacement. That along, should be considered an insult to Holmgren and the fans.

But I think the real reason Holmgren won't fire Jimmy Moron is because the Seahawk organization would ask him not to, since he is a first year coach. However, I don't think Knapp will be around.

My biggest concern with Holmgren coming back to be the GM is what if he fails. What if in three years we are a 7 and 9 team that hasn't improved much. Then all of Seattle will be calling the talk shows saying one of the GREATEST Seahawks ever should be canned. I would hate to see his legacy here tarnished. I can't think that Mora would be too happy either. When he struggles people will be begging Holmgren to take over coaching duties as well. I personally have no problem with Mora other than his loyalty to Knapp. I can't stand Knapp and to have a good run game when you have Micheal Vick, who runs for a thousand yards, as your starting QB doesn't seem like that big of an accomplishment.

I see one win for sure over the next stretch. Houston has really improved and so have the Titans. We have a good chance of finishing 5-11 this year. If it is true that they are waiting to see how we finish to determine Ruskell's future, then it looks bleak for him.

Though I don't really care who our GM is, I do want a winner on the field. Ruskell has made some good moves, but has really missed out on the window of opportunity that was our dominant team. He didn't address key needs and the needs that he did focus on, he did not succeed in fixing. The D line still does not get pressure with a regular front four rush. Our running game has been in shambles since 06 and our O line has been progressively deteriorating without being addressed. Ruskell's inability to fix known problems should be his down fall.

I like the character approach, but I think he takes too much of a high road approach that we don't have any toughness on our team. I am not sold on Holmgren, but Ruskell has not improved this team. If they decide to give him another year, the risk is, Holmgren will not be available the following year.

So the dilema for Liewike and Allen is "when" will they make a decision on Ruskell? Liewike has provided very strong support for Ruskell. Allen can't sit still and watch two consecutive losing seasons. They really do need to believe that his system is working and is making progress.

My opinion is that Ruskell deserves a failing grade. The team has not progressed with him as the GM. We have gotten weaker and older and less competitive. He has hired a coach that has not been a proven winner. Our D is expensive and porous. Our O is old, slow, and non threatening. Our special teams is laughable. What have you done for Seattle lately Ruskell?

5 years is long enough to show your wares. We've seen the results.

What are our options at GM if we let Ruskell go? Any ideas? Suggestions?

We might not like him much, but Mike Shanahan is one very solid possibility, he has a proven track record, he is a contol freak, his team(s) have played the ZBS blocking system and he is in a large part responsible for the development of John Elway.

Bill Cowher would be a fabulous coach, but I am unsure what he could do as a GM.

Gruden, I would hire as a coach, but not a GM

The real issue with hiring a GM only is that they might be something like 75% likely to can the coach. Look at how bad the situations got in Chicago.

I would suspect that much as we the fans might hate it, the real answer is to attempt to (he may not want to) extend Ruskell for something like a year with an option or 2 years and a option, and if it is not significantly improved THEN tear it apart, and start over..

Both Shannahan and Cowher would be good pick ups, i'm not sure about Gruden though. His players tune him out in the 2nd season.

I'll pass on John Gruden. The guy hates young players espescially young qb's. Thats the reason Tampa fired him, and decided to finally rebuild by waiving almost all of their older players (derrick brooks, joey galloway....)

there's going to be a mutiny.

I don't love or hate Ruskell. However, I just hope he leaves so that I can stop hearing this tired debate over and over and over and over and over. I'm so sick of this topic.

In reality, this is Timmy's first season with his guy in charge on the field. I think to start tearing the team apart now will only make us go downhill faster and further. This is the team that Allen and Co. have put together and I think that he will stick with it for a couple more seasons.

We also have to remember that going into preseason, the expectation was that Whale and Big Walt would play. I don't know how much different the season would have been if those two guys were healthy this season, but I suspect the we would have been more competitive with a consistent running game.

As the saying goes, poop happens. It sure did on the O-Line. We'll see how they are performing by the end of this season.

I'm not a big Gruden fan either.
Under the right circumstances, Cowher or Shanahan would make great coaches.

I'd really like it if we could find a great player-finder. I thought Ruskell was suppose to be that person. That ego-maniac in San Diego seems to be like that. Maybe there is someone out there like him without the emotional baggage?

If we don't hire Holmgren soon, it'll no longer be an option because some other team will. Ruskell has had four years to prove he's an abject failure. He didn't do much in Atlanta and he certainly hasn't done anything here except destroy a winning franchise. Ruskell, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

I hope Holmy comes back! regardless of the out come, I want to see Knapp get fired!
As a true hawk fan and since I know our season is over, I am hoping they continue to loss to every team.
1- With win over the giants, it looks like denver pick will be a low pick. so we might as well tank it and get a high pick.
2- the worse we are the better our chance of getting rid of TR.

I don't think we need to "tank" the season, we're bad enough to lose without trying to. I sure hope big walt isn't done for though.