Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is on the cusp of Canton!
Nearly 20 years removed from taking the Seattle Seahawks to their first ever Super Bowl, former head coach Mike Holmgren could finally find himself in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Holmgren was named the coaching finalist for the Class of 2025 on Tuesday, notably beating out fellow Super Bowl champion coaches Mike Shanahan (who beat Holmgren in the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos), Tom Coughlin, and George Seifert, as well as fellow former Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox.
This is the first time Holmgren has been named a Hall of Fame finalist, having previously bowed out in the semifinals stage over the past couple of years. If Holmgren gets approval from at least 80% of the members of the full Selection Committee, he’s heading to Canton. Voting will commence during Super Bowl week.
Keep in mind, however, that only three of the five announced finalists can be elected. The other four announced finalists are Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay (contributors wing), as well as former players Sterling Sharpe, Jim Tyrer, and Maxie Baughan (seniors wing). Tyrer would’ve already been in the Hall of Fame had he not murdered his wife before dying by suicide in 1980.
Holmgren went to two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers (winning one), and won two Super Bowls as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers. Add in his Seahawks career and you’re looking at five Super Bowl appearances and three wins over 22 years as an NFL coach. His run with Seattle might not have started all that smoothly (at least outside of his first season), but from 2003-2007 he guided the Seahawks to five straight playoff appearances, four straight NFC West titles, and the aforementioned NFC Championship in 2005. Had the Seahawks won Super Bowl XL over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Holmgren would’ve been the only head coach in NFL history with Super Bowl wins with multiple franchises, and he likely would’ve already been in Canton by now.
Selection Committee: You know what to do! Let’s finish the job and see Coach Holmgren in Canton in 2025!