Another Seattle Seahawks birthday is upon us: long-time Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren is 77.

Holmgren first arrived in the Pacific Northwest ahead of the 1999 season, being brought in by owner Paul Allen to turn things around after several years in the AFC West basement. From 1989-1998, the Seahawks finished at or under .500 nine times, placing no higher than third in their division during this period.

Around this time, Holmgren was rising through the coaching ranks, serving on the 49ers’ coaching staff between 1986 and 1991, initially working as the quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator. There, Holmgren worked under the likes of Bill Walsh and George Seifert, winning back-to-back Super Bowls along the way.

In 1992, Holmgren was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, working with Brett Favre to bring the Packers back to the playoffs for the first time since the strike-shortened 1982 season. After a series of early exits, Holmgren brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay, winning Super Bowl XXXI during the 1996 season. The Packers defended their NFC Championship the next year, ultimately losing to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. Over seven seasons in Green Bay, Holmgren went 75-37 during the regular season and 9-5 in the postseason.

Following the 1998 season, Holmgren resigned from his position with the Packers, accepting an eight-year contract with Seattle. In addition to being named the sixth head coach in Seahawks history, Holmgren was also named as the executive vice president and general manager.

Year one under Holmgren was a success, as Seattle won the AFC West division title for the first time in 11 years. The Seahawks lost to the Dolphins in the wild card round, but the fact that Holmgren was able to snap Seattle’s postseason appearance drought was impressive in its own right. A new era of Seahawks football was on the horizon.

The next three years were rather turbulent, as Seattle started 2-7 in 2000 and 2-6 in 2002 while hovering around the .500 mark for much of ‘01. The ‘Hawks were in need of improvements on both sides of the ball, with the offense managing no more than 23 points per game as the defense gave up over 20 points/game. By 2002, things were looking a bit dicey, as Holmgren’s future in Seattle appeared uncertain.

In Holmgren’s fourth season as head coach, the Seahawks began the year 2-6, a less than ideal start to their return to the NFC. Though the team went 5-3 the rest of the way, the season’s disastrous beginning put a damper on any future progress that was made under Holmgren. During the ensuing off-season, management removed Holmgren from his posts as executive VP and general manager, while keeping him on as head coach heading into 2003.

The ‘03 season saw Seattle go 10-6 during the regular season, the team’s best showing since 1986. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, then in his third year with the Seahawks, achieved new career highs in passing yards (3,841) and touchdown passes (26), earning Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career.

In the second season of what is now Lumen Field, Seattle went a perfect 8-0 at home, going undefeated on their home turf for the first time ever. Finishing second in the NFC West behind the 12-4 St. Louis Rams, the Seahawks earned a wild card berth as the fifth seed in the playoffs. The wild card round saw Seattle face Holmgren’s old squad in Green Bay, who defeated the Seahawks 33-27 in overtime on a 52-yard interception return by Packers cornerback Al Harris. We don’t need to address the famous coin toss words from Matt Hasselbeck.

2004 saw Seattle win the NFC West for the first time, the first of four consecutive division titles under Holmgren. At 9-7, the Seahawks earned the NFC’s fourth playoff seed, hosting the 8-8 Rams (who went 2-0 vs. Seattle during the regular season) in the wild card round. The Seahawks fell behind 14-3, but came back to take a 20-17 lead over St. Louis in the fourth quarter. Alas, it was not meant to be, as the Rams scored 10 unanswered points to win by a score of 27-20.

Several key players were re-signed by Seattle during the 2004-05 off-season, namely Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander, and Walter Jones. Everything came together in 2005, as the Seahawks won 11 consecutive games en route to a franchise-best 13-3 finish in the regular season. Alexander won Offensive Player of the Year and NFL MVP honors, leading the league in rushing yards (1,880), touchdowns (27), and attempts (370). Hasselbeck had another solid year as well, posting his best completion percentage over a full season (65.5) and throwing for over 3,000 yards for the fourth consecutive year.

Seattle earned the NFC’s top seed, hosting the team now known as the Washington Commanders in the Divisional round. In the Divisional round, the Seahawks defeated Washington, 20-10, snapping a 21-year playoff win drought in the process. Alexander played a vital role in helping Seattle defeat the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game, rushing for two touchdowns as the Seahawks prevailed by a score of 34-14. With the victory, Holmgren became just the fifth head coach in NFL history to take two different teams to the Super Bowl, and remains one of only seven to do so overall.

The Pittsburgh Steelers ended Holmgren’s best shot at a Lombardi Trophy with Seattle, defeating the Seahawks 21-10 with some help from a bit of questionable officiating. Despite the loss, however, Holmgren and his group still came closer to a Super Bowl championship than any team in franchise history up to that point.

Seattle’s NFC title defense started out strong, with the team going 6-3 through the first 10 weeks of the 2006 campaign. The Seahawks followed that up by losing four of their next six games, dropping three in a row in December. Nevertheless, Seattle won in the regular season finale to finish 9-7, claiming the NFC West division title for the third straight year. The Seahawks obtained the NFC’s fourth seed, hosting the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round.

Both teams traded scores through the first two-plus quarters, with Seattle leading 13-10 in the third. Dallas then tallied 10 consecutive points, thanks in part to a 93-yard kickoff return TD by Miles Austin. The Seahawks responded with a safety before Hasselbeck threw what wound up being the game-winning touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens to take a 21-20 lead. Martin Gramatica went for a routine field goal attempt, but Tony Romo botched the hold and the Cowboys failed to score on the drive. Seattle held on to win, advancing to face the 13-3 Chicago Bears in the Divisional round.

The Seahawks held their own against the eventual NFC champions, matching the Bears on each of their first two touchdown drives. Chicago got one more touchdown before halftime, but Seattle went ahead in the third quarter with 10 straight points, leading 24-21 heading into the fourth. Robbie Gould tied the game for the Bears with a field goal in the fourth quarter and got another in overtime, sending Chicago to the conference title game for the first time in 18 years.

The 2007 season started a little shaky, with the Seahawks beginning the year at 4-4, but a 6-2 finish rocketed the team to the top of the division. Nine years into Holmgren’s tenure, Seattle was 82-62 and had qualified for the postseason six times. Finishing year nine at 10-6, the Seahawks earned the NFC’s third seed, hosting Washington in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

Seattle dominated at home, leading 13-0 in the third quarter. Despite two touchdowns from the opposition, the Seahawks answered with three TDs of their own to win by a score of 35-14. Seattle moved on to face Green Bay in the Divisional round for the teams’ second playoff meeting since Holmgren’s initial departure from his former club.

The Seahawks jumped out to a 14-0 lead, reaching the end zone on each of their first two drives of the contest. However, the Packers fired back with three touchdowns over their next three possessions, taking a 21-14 lead in the second quarter. Josh Brown got a field goal to cut the deficit to four, but Seattle would not regain the lead in this one. Green Bay got three more touchdowns over the remainder of the game, limiting the Seahawks to just a field goal in the second half. The Packers prevailed over their old coach once more, this time by a much more lopsided score of 42-20.

Holmgren’s final season with Seattle was nothing to write home about, as the Seahawks went a measly 4-12 in 2008. Ending the final year of his contract with the franchise’s worst record in 16 years, Holmgren exited with a cumulative regular season record of 86-74 and a playoff record of 4-6. Holmgren capped off his tenure in Seattle in December of 2008 by earning the Steve Largent Award, becoming the team’s first coach to receive the honor.

In the years since his departure from the Seahawks organization, Holmgren has been favorably remembered as a central figure in bringing football in Seattle to heights that had never been seen before. In 2021, Holmgren joined Chuck Knox as the only coaches to be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor, and he has twice been named as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Though he still has yet to be inducted into Canton, Holmgren’s time is sure to come soon.

Happy Birthday, Coach! What are some of your favorite memories from Coach Holmgren’s tenure in Seattle? Tell us in the comments below!