February 6th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
In a move not much different than the succession plan that is already in place in Indianapolis, the Seattle Seahawks, according to the Associated Press and verified by several reports posted Tuesday night, will announce that Jim Mora will replace Mike Holmgren as the team’s next head coach in 2009. They will introduce Mora at a press conference at 3 PM EST on Wednesday. ESPN also reported that while Mora will replace Holmgren, he has a 5-year contract, according to a source “close to Mora”.
Mora has been the heir apparent to Holmgren ever since he was hired as Seattle’s assistant head coach and defensoive backs coach a year ago. Since that time, the team has made it a point to keep Mora away from speculation regarding available head coaching jobs. Yet Holmgren acknowledged late this past season that Mora would be a “head man” soon. But it all came to a head when Holmgren, 10 days after the Seahawks lost to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional playoffs, announced that 2008 would be his final season.
Mora has ties to the local Seattle area as he went to junior and high school there, while his father was an assistant at the University of Washington; Mora also caused a furor of sorts in 2006 when he told an Atlanta radio station that the Huskies’ head coaching position was his dream job. Last month, Mora bowed out of consideration for the Washington Redskins’ head coaching position.
This seems to be the new trend in the NFL. Indy, Seattle, and possibly Dallas.