It's almost over. This nightmare of a season seemingly began yesterday, but its all finished tomorrow. This game isn't really important to me. If we win, we beat the hated Cardinals. If we lose, we get the 4th or 5th pick in the draft. I'm okay with either result.

The importance of this game is that it will mark the end of an era in Seahawks history. The final game for the franchise's winningest coach. Just because Mora's coached alongside Mike Holmgren for two years doesn't mean he's anything like him. Things are going to be much different.

I haven't always been Holmgren's biggest fan. Sometimes his conservatism and his reliance on the same plays, coaches, and players has bugged me. He's fiercely loyal, which has obvious good qualities but also leads to make bad personnel decisions based on friendships and emotions. These have cost Seattle games in these past ten years.

However, I am smart enough to know that Holmgren is still a fantastic coach, a brilliant offensive mind and a class act. Never once have I been ashamed of having Mike Holmgren Coaching our favorite team. He doesn't beg for attention, he hasn't been out looking for other jobs, he doesn't throw his players under the bus, even when prompted to by the media. When he was asked to resign his post as GM, he never was publicly angry with the organization and had no troubles playing players he didn't acquire. With all due respect to Mora I can not be sure that we will ever have a classier coach.

Holmgren's reputation as an offensive mind is well deserved. Without Holmgren's insistence on
Matt Hasselbeck, there would have been no Super Bowl XL appearance and possibly not even any division titles. For all of Holmgren's mistakes in his time as GM (and there were plenty), he has an eye for offensive talent, as shown by his picks of Shaun Alexander and Steve Hutchinson. Mike Holmgren was responsible in large part for Seattle's red zone success. He always had a plan for inside the 20 and it would usually work out to prefection.

This organization will be much different when Holmgren leaves, in both good and bad ways. The front office should have a lot more power over the team, with Mora as more of a figurehead (one of the reasons I am not particularly worried about this transition). With Holmgren recently, he had some problems in make the players adapt to his plays instead of making plays to adapt to the players. However, the organization will be missing a truly amazing scout of offensive talent, a coach who never let his locker room get out of control, and somebody who idealized the preparedness and discipline that this organisation strives to instill in its players. Mike Holmgren, We will miss you. Enjoy your "sabbatical".