Seahawks Notebook: Holmgren happy for pal Parcells
Friday, November 7, 2008 1:17 PM PST
By Gregg Bell
The Associated Press
Printable version
E-mail this articleRENTON, Wash. — As Mike Holmgren studies the Miami Dolphins this week, he is smiling for his good friend Bill Parcells.
Parcells is in his first season as the Dolphins' executive vice president of football operations. He hired new coach Tony Sparano, brought in new quarterback Chad Pennington, let defensive star Jason Taylor go.
Presto! Miami, a 1-15 laughingstock last season, is 4-4 and talking about making a push into the playoffs now.
"I think you have to start with Bill. Bill set the tone, as he has wherever he went," Holmgren said. "He's gone to a number of teams and he has a proven record as being able to do this. Some of their best players last year are no longer on the team. That's one thing he does. If they didn't know it already, he's going to make changes. Dramatic changes.
"He kind of set it up in his image with his head coach. Their style of defense, certainly, looks very similar to me ... As much as anything you see clearly a change in culture or attitude. So I think it starts with him. There's no question about that."
When Parcells came out of his one-year hiatus from coaching to take the job in Miami last December, Holmgren wistfully said how he envies Parcells for his cushy deal with the comfortable office. Now that the Seahawks coach, in his 10th and final season in Seattle, is nearing the start of his self-described "sabbatical" from football in 2009 and hasn't ruled out a return to football after it, could he see himself having a job like Parcells' in some other NFL city in 2010?
"Everybody wants to be the king," Holmgren said, laughing.
Then he playfully cut off a question about what kind of culture he would instill in another organization.
"You're making a few presumptions here, and that is about as hypothetical as it gets," he said. "So with all due respect, I'm going to stay away from that one.
"Right now, we just have to get this thing going and have fun the second half of the season. At the end of the season, maybe we can chat some more about that."
'Wildcat' days
Even though Miami's recent opponents have started to stymie the Dolphins' so-called "Wildcat" offense of running back Ronnie Brown taking direct snaps and running or passing, the Seahawks are occupying themselves with the scheme this week in advance of their game in Florida on Sunday.
"You can recognize (the formation). The quarterback's not in the backfield," linebacker Leroy Hill said. "Thing is, they have a lot of plays out of it. It's just figuring out what plays they are going to do."
Pacing Walter
Left tackle Walter Jones has been limited in practice the last two days, with the reason given as "team decision." That's been the euphemism for the ongoing decision to pace the 12th-year star through the long season.
This week Jones has been wearing what appears to be a splint under a wrapped ring finger on his right hand. He says he feels as good as he ever has, thanks to a change in his diet to eating healthier foods beginning last offseason.
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