Mike Holmgren hasn't ruled out coaching again
Mike Holmgren said he hasn't ruled out a return to coaching. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
The Cleveland Browns' new ownership and reworked front office may result in an early exit for Mike Holmgren -- or a return to coaching.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Holmgren didn't guarantee he'll remain in his role as Browns outgoing president for the rest of the season at a Tuesday afternoon press conference, but he would like to stay if new owner Jimmy Haslam and recently hired CEO Joe Banner are of the same mind.
"We'll take it one day at a time and see how it goes,'' he said. "I'll focus on the football side now (and not the business side). I want to feel like I'm contributing. I think I can help a little.''
Holmgren, who won a Super Bowl coaching the Packers, and coached the Seahawks to another, also didn't rule out a return to coaching.
Asked if he has one more coaching stint in him, Holmgren, 64, said, "I don't know. I do miss the coaching part.''
He said he considered coaching the Browns after firing Eric Mangini, but didn't feel it was the right time.
"I thought a lot about it, what I was willing to do, what I wasn't willing to do,'' he said. "At that time I wasn't ready for it. I thought I'd be shortchanging the organization.''
Holmgren's relationship with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has long linked him to a move to Dallas as a front-office advisor -- Jones is unlikely to ever give up his general manger title -- or as a head coach.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Randy Galloway revisited the notion upon last week's news of Holmgren's inevitable exit from the Browns.
I have heard it said since the mid-'90s, when the Green Bay Packers replaced Jones and the Cowboys as the NFC Super Bowl representative, that a strong mutual admiration society exists between these two.
While Holmgren was going to Super Bowls with the Packers, and later in the 2000s with Seattle, I have heard the Valley Ranch voices say if Mike ever became available then there would be the good possibility of a Valley Ranch match.
