Chad Brown: Ex-Seahawks Coach Mike Holmgren 'Certainly Qualifies' for Hall of Fame
The 2020 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame was announced before the Super Bowl earlier this year, which included two former head coaches in Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson.
Before arriving in Seattle, former All-Pro linebacker Chad Brown started his career playing under Cowher, the architect of the vaunted "Blitzburgh" defense. If he stacked up the list of head coaches he played under in the NFL against other players in NFL history, very few would have a better list of bosses.
During the opening moments of an interview with Brown, he admitted he was blessed for the opportunity to play for several of the best coaches in league history. After playing for the aforementioned Cowher in Pittsburgh and former two-time national champion Dennis Erickson in his first few seasons in the Pacific Northwest, Mike Holmgren came to town and led the Seahawks during Brown's final six seasons with the franchise.
With Cowher being recently named to the 2020 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Brown weighed in on Holmgren's own candidacy, as he has yet to receive the call for Canton.
"I suppose you want to look at Super Bowls and you want to look at continued, sustained long-term success," Brown chimed in. "So certainly, the Super Bowl in Green Bay, the couple years of building the Seahawks into what they once became. I think in some ways, yes Mike Holmgren does qualify for that."
"Does he have the rings and titles that Bill Belichick has? No, he doesn’t. But Bill Cowher only got the one and he’s in the Hall of Fame, so if that’s the criteria that gets you a gold jacket then Mike Holmgren certainly qualifies."
Not to be outdone by his time with Cowher and Holmgren, Brown later played under another legendary coach who isn't in the Hall of Fame yet because he is still roaming the sidelines, hood and all.
"I’ve been super lucky throughout my career as a player to be with some incredible coaches... Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Erickson... and when I got to New England, Bill Belichick."
The Pasadena, California native played for the Patriots in 2005 and briefly with the 2007 squad that went a perfect 16-0 through the regular season. Needless to say, the 15-year NFL veteran knows a Hall of Fame head coach when he sees one.
Holmgren had humble beginnings, getting his first college job in 1981 for San Francisco State as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
He quickly moved on to BYU as the quarterbacks coach for players like 1984 national champion Robbie Bosco and NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young while also mentoring a young coach by the name of Andy Reid.
The Bay Area native earned his first head coaching gig with the Green Bay Packers in 1992 and was involved in helping the Packers trade for a gun-slinging, loose cannon signal caller in Brett Favre.
From there, he helped Favre become one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and won Super Bowl XXXI against the Patriots.
After the 1998 season, Holmgren resigned from the Packers with a 75-37 record and nine playoff wins, including the Super Bowl title and another trip to the big game in 1997. Looking for a new challenge, he took over as coach and general manager for a Seahawks team who had not had a winning season since 1990 and had not been to the playoffs in over a decade.
In his first season at the helm in Seattle, he led them to a 9-7 record and a playoff berth. After a couple of years shuffling the deck and going through multiple quarterbacks, he and Matt Hasselbeck guided the Seahawks to a 10-6 campaign in 2003, their first double-digit win season since 1986.
Holmgren found a way to get the most out of his signal caller from Boston College, as his years with Holmgren were clearly the best of Hasselbeck's storied 17-year career. With him at the controls, the Seahawks were top 10 in total offense in five of Holmgren's 10 seasons with the franchise.
In 2005, things clicked perfectly as Hasselbeck led Holmgren's offense to a No. 1 ranking in the NFL on their way to winning the NFC and playing the Steelers in their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
After the 2008 season, Holmgren stepped down as head coach and has not roamed the sidelines since. He finished his career with 161 regular season wins and 13 postseason victories, the latter being seventh all-time, having recently been passed by his pupil at BYU and Green Bay, Andy Reid, this past postseason.
Some may argue Holmgren doesn't have enough championships to merit enshrinement. But as Brown pointed out, Cowher, like Holmgren, just has one Super Bowl ring on his finger and is now headed to Canton, so that cannot be the end-all, be-all.
Plus, coaches like Mark Levy and Bud Grant have busts in Canton without having won the big game as a head coach. Additionally, Holmgren's coaching tree alone should boost his resume for Canton.
Jon Gruden (106 wins, one Super Bowl title) and Reid (207 wins, one Super Bowl title) headline the group that learned under Holmgren's tutelage, both arguably building Hall of Fame resumes of their own.
Comparing Holmgren to Cowher directly, it's a bit head-scratching why Cowher got the call and Holmgren did not. The former Seahawks head coach edges Cowher in regular season wins (161 to 149), playoff wins (13 to 12), and conference championships (3 to 2). Most importantly, they have the same number of Super Bowl victories.
The other coach inductee, Jimmy Johnson, only has the advantage in Super Bowls, guiding the Cowboys to consecutive Super Bowl titles in 1992 and 1993. Otherwise, Holmgren's accomplishments far exceed those of Johnson, who posted 89 total wins, including winning one less conference championship than Holmgren.
The list of top-notch quarterbacks that learned under Holmgren is lengthy, including current Hall of Famers such as Favre, Joe Montana, and Steve Young, as the 49ers won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1988 and 1989 when Holmgren was an assistant under Bill Walsh.
Holmgren's day should come soon, perhaps even during the next cycle ahead of Super Bowl LV. His resume stacks up with, and in some cases tops, several coaches who are already in Canton or will be arriving there this fall.
