The man who led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl appearance has to wait even longer to call himself a Hall of Fame coach.
Mike Holmgren has been given the Pro Football Hall of Fame snub again.
The former Seattle Seahawks head coach was not among the inductees into the Hall of Fame after failing to receive the minimum 80 percent vote from the Selection Committee. He was announced as a finalist for the HOF back in December, marking the first time he’d ever advanced beyond the semifinal stage.
Unlike previous years when Holmgren’s inclusion would’ve been a given as the lone coaching candidate, there was a change to the criteria that made his inclusion in this year’s class a little less certain.
As explained by the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta:
Holmgren is lumped in with a group of five along with three senior candidates (former players Sterling Sharpe, Jim Tyrer and Maxie Baughan) and one contributor candidate (Ralph Hay, the co-founder in 1920 of what became the National Football League and the owner of the Canton Bulldogs).
The last two years, there was simply one combined coach/contributor candidate instead of one of each. Of that group of five, up to three can be elected, and at least one is assured.
The 76-year-old Holmgren’s success as a head coach began with the Green Bay Packers, dragging them back to relevance and compiling a remarkable 75-37 record over seven seasons. The Packers won Super Bowl 31 over the New England Patriots in the 1996 season, then returned to the Super Bowl the following year but lost to the Denver Broncos.
In 1999, Holmgren left the Packers to sign an eight-year contract to coach the Seattle Seahawks, as well as serve as executive vice president and general manager. He immediately returned the Seahawks to the playoffs in his first season, then after some rough waters as both coach and GM (which led to him losing his front office status in 2002), Holmgren rattled off five consecutive postseason berths and four straight NFC West titles.
The hallmark of Holmgren’s Seahawks tenure came in 2005, when Seattle finished with a 13-3 record and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Shaun Alexander won league MVP with what was a record-setting 28 touchdowns, with Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson leading the way on the offensive line. Seattle won the NFC Championship in a romp over the Carolina Panthers, reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
Holmgren’s Seahawks career ended in 2008 with a record of 86-74, including more playoff wins (4) than Seattle had managed in its entire existence prior to his arrival (3). By any measure, Holmgren was the most successful coach in Seahawks history prior to Pete Carroll.
While Holmgren wasn’t able to become the only head coach to win Super Bowls with multiple franchises, he’s still one of just seven coaches to take multiple teams to the big game. Add in his rings as an assistant on the San Francisco 49ers dynasty and he’s got three Super Bowl wins in addition to being in both the Packers and Seahawks’ Rings of Honor/Halls of Fame.
And yet none of this was convincing enough to voters as far as Holmgren’s Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy. If there’s ever a reason to be extra bitter about the outcome of Super Bowl XL, it’s the fact that Holmgren would’ve been in much sooner already.
Don’t forget that Bill Belichick is eligible for the Hall of Fame due to revised rules that allow coaches to be eligible much sooner than retired players. Holmgren’s path was clear, but tightened restrictions may have made it harder for him and others to get in.
The actual Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees were tight end Antonio Gates, Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, star pass rusher Jared Allen, and cornerback Eric Allen.
Congratulations to the Class of 2025, but this still stings.