New Browns president Holmgren is trying to adjust to not being on the sidelines as one of football's most accomplished coaches. Interviewed by USA Today, Holmgren says, "I believe he is a fine coach" of Eric Mangini.
Browns coach Eric Mangini (left) and president Mike Holmgren (right) talk during a Browns minicamp practice last month.Cleveland, Ohio -- Mike Holmgren has quite a coaching resume, including:
Head coach for two Green Bay Packers teams that got to the Super Bowl, including the 1996 season champions.
Head coach for the only Seattle Seahawks team to reach the Super Bowl.
Quarterbacks coach for the 1988 season Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49'ers, and offensive coordinator for the champion Niners the next season.
And, quarterbacks coach for the 1984 NCAA national champion Brigham Young.
Now, Holmgren is in his first season as the Cleveland Browns team president. The Plain Dealer and -- on its website -- cleveland.com/browns continue to chronicle the Browns organization under Holmgren's leadership.
So used to being on the sidelines, Holmgren admits he's in a period of adjustment as the Cleveland Browns team president. He now watches Browns coach Eric Mangini direct the team in its practices and, soon, guide it on game days.
Jon Saraceno writes about Holmgren's executive role with the Browns for USAToday.com:
Game days will be vastly different for the Harley-riding grandfather, 62, who roamed — and sometimes foamed — along NFL sidelines from 1992 to 2008. He is one of five NFL coaches to revive a pair of moribund franchises when he led two teams to the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers, then the Seattle Seahawks.
"I know this about myself: I am going to have to find a way to funnel my energy," he says in an exclusive interview. "Even in our minicamps, my tendency was to (want to) run out there, grab (rookie quarterback) Colt McCoy and say, 'Now, look!' I have told Eric I am not going to say, 'Do this or do that.' It is not fair. I kept Eric when everyone thought I was going to let him go. I believe he is a fine coach — and he is going to get a chance to prove it."
Saraceno refers to Holmgren's longtime friend Gil Haskell, now a Browns adviser, and also addresses the possibility that Holmgren might again coach:
Haskell says the pair will watch Browns games from the press box, but don't look for Holmgren's jowly implosions to be captured on TV: "He will sit in a place where it is not easy for people to see his reactions," Haskell says. "He will pick a place that is not in front of the cameras."
Holmgren says the "rush" for him was calling plays as a head coach — "the chess game, being there, making quick decisions," a lure that leaves him vulnerable to another foray into coaching.
"I think there is that possibility," he says. "But really not until I think I have accomplished what I need to do here. So the odds become less and less the longer I am here, if it takes awhile to fix this.
"This opportunity came up, so I grabbed it before I had too much time to think about coaching opportunities. I made the right decision for me right now."