Tough way out

I hate to see Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren possibly ending his career this way.

Most of my favorite NFL memories occurred when Holmgren was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. The Super Bowl XXXI win over the Patriots obviously ranks first, but the three straight playoff wins over the 49ers aren't far behind. I can almost guarantee nothing in the NFL will ever compare, in my following of the league, to seeing how the Packers developed from an upstart team to a Super Bowl champion with guys like Brett Favre, Reggie White, Robert Brooks, Gilbert Brown and Leroy Butler leading the way.

I am not a person who likes to live in the past, but those were my glory days of being an NFL fan. And any other fan of that team has similar fond memories of Holmgren and how he shaped the Packers' revival.

But back to present day for a moment.

Holmgren, it was announced last winter, is stepping down at the end of this season and will be replaced by current assistant and former Falcons coach Jim Mora. Holmgren's career could be over, but he hasn't officially said if he'll retire or not.

If Holmgren does say goodbye, this is not the way he should be going out. The Seahawks are 2-7 and will pretty much be playing out the string the rest of the season. Injuries have decimated Holmgren's final season in Seattle. His top quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, has missed five games, and his receiving corps has been so banged up he's had to sign guys from the local Chevron to catch passes.

That's his line, not mine.

The Seahawks have also been without defensive standouts Patrick Kerney and Lofa Tatupu for games at a time. Even when something has gone right this season for Seattle, it has quickly turned wrong. Fullback Leonard Weaver had touchdown receptions of 42 and 63 yards in the Seahawks' 34-13 win over the 49ers in Week 8. He gave the offense a badly needed playmaker presence in that win.

But Weaver injured his foot in the victory over the 49ers and had to miss the Seahawks' following game. He returned last week against Miami but suffered a rib injury and might not play this week.

A coach can't win without players, or when his best ones are wearing street clothes on game days.

"I had a vision of my last year going a little differently," Holmgren said in a conference call this week. "I think everyone here did as well because we had a good football team on paper coming into the season, and sometimes in this business, crazy stuff happens. And we got hit by a very unusual set of circumstances."