Holmgren Happy In Green Bay

Clearly, Coach Mike Holmgren, a 50-year-old native Californian, is the most revered coach in Green Bay since the glory days of Vince Lombardi in the 1960s. He already has a street named after him a few blocks from Lambeau Field; Holmgren Way intersects with Lombardi Avenue not far from the Packers Hall of Fame.

Holmgren and his wife, Kathy, have four daughters and the youngest graduates from high school next spring. The family has become part of the fabric of life in the smallest, and perhaps most passionate, football city in the league. They have lent their names and their time to a number of worthy causes around the state. After the 49ers game, Kathy, a nurse and a social worker, attended her husband’s postgame news conference wearing a T-shirt endorsing the candidacy of Democrat Russell Feingold, who won a hard-fought Senate race last Tuesday.

“The political climate around my house is a little tense,” Holmgren said, smiling. “We don’t agree on some things, but that happens in America.”

Holmgren and General Manager Ron Wolf also have had the occasional disagreement over the years, just like any coach and general manager. But they have also turned the Packers, 4-12 the year before their arrival, into perennial playoff contenders. They have had five straight postseason appearances and regular season records of 13-3 the last two years. They have won the last three NFC Central titles, and the Super Bowl after the ’96 season. Last week’s big victory over the San Francisco 49ers improved Holmgren’s career regular season record to 70-34. The Packers (6-2) are a game behind the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Central going into Monday night’s game in Pittsburgh.

Holmgren and his players also insist that the coach’s plans have not been a distraction, mostly because Holmgren generally won’t talk about it publicly and has been straight with the team since the day the players arrived in training camp.

“At our first team meeting this summer I addressed it,” he said. “I talk about it with our players committee (Reggie White, Brett Favre, LeRoy Butler and Santana Dotson). I didn’t want them to be off-balance about it, either. I honestly don’t think the players give that sort of thing much thought. They’re trying to do what they’re doing.

“The one thing players of today can understand is the possibility of moving. I’ve said that about guys who have left here with free agency. I don’t want to lose anyone, but that’s the reality of the game. You have to understand why they did it. And there’s also a good possibility I’m [staying] here. I mean, I really like it here.”

Holmgren’s players clearly like him, too. They also know any decision he makes is ultimately out of their control, so they don’t worry about it in the middle of a season still filled with so much promise.

“Players don’t care, bottom line,” Favre said. “It’s hard enough for us to play than to worry about what our coach is doing or where he’s going. Mike handles it as well as I think he possibly can. If he wants to go somewhere else and he gets an opportunity to do something, great, we’re all happy for him.”