DETROIT — Dave Wannstedt couldn't do it.

Neither could Mike Sherman.

Once stripped of their general manager powers by Dolphins and Green Bay ownership respectively, Wannstedt and Sherman failed to make the successful transition into becoming solely head coaches and are no longer with those franchises.

Three years ago, Mike Holmgren wondered if he would ultimately suffer the same fate in Seattle. In fact, Holmgren wasn't immediately sure whether he even wanted to remain as the Seahawks' head coach after his general manager title — and the final say over personnel decisions that comes with it — was removed following a 7-9 season in 2002.

"I had a choice to make, whether I was going to sit on the beach and ride my motorcycle or accept the situation for what it was," Holmgren said. "As long as they still wanted me to coach the team, I wanted to do that. I am a coach."

And a darn good one.

If the Seahawks can defeat Pittsburgh today at Ford Field, Holmgren will become the only coach ever to win Super Bowls with two different teams. Holmgren led Green Bay to a 35-21 victory over New England in Super Bowl XXXI.

Those championship rings would go along with three he earned as a San Francisco 49ers assistant and one from being on BYU's staff when the Cougars won the 1984 national title. Known especially for his acumen on offense, Holmgren has worked with two Hall of Fame quarterbacks (Steve Young and Joe Montana), one future inductee (Brett Favre) and Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck, who is headed to the Pro Bowl after playing in Super Bowl XL.

"He's very much a hands-on type of coach," Seahawks fullback Mack Strong said. "He's very detailed and talks a lot about paying close attention to detail every day in practice."

Holmgren, though, couldn't detail a plan to get Seattle on track after leaving Green Bay in 1999 for a head coach/general manager position. Although the franchise did acquire cornerstone players like Hasselbeck, left guard Steve Hutchinson and wide receiver Darrell Jackson under his watch, the Holmgren-assembled Seahawks were 31-34 overall with no playoff victories in his first four seasons.

That led to a sizable contingent of Seahawks fans calling for the ouster of Holmgren, who was being stretched thin trying to juggle all of his responsibilities.

"We just weren't that good," said Hasselbeck, who arrived in the 2001 offseason following a trade with Green Bay. "The product on the field wasn't very good, and that is a frustrating thing."

Under then-team president Bob Whitsitt, Holmgren was relegated solely to coaching and Bob Ferguson was hired as general manager. The three were frequently at odds about how to shape the roster, with Holmgren growing so frustrated that he even admitted to entertaining thoughts of resigning after the 2004 season.

Seahawks owner Paul Allen finally found the right combination in early 2005 by revamping the team's front office, adding Tampa Bay executive Tim Ruskell as president and general manager and rehiring salary-cap guru Mike Reinfeldt for a top managerial position.

Holmgren's trust in Ruskell and Reinfeldt, along with all three having a shared vision of the franchise's direction, helped the Seahawks (15-3) enjoy their best season in franchise history.