DETROIT – In the days leading up to Super Bowl XL, Mike Holmgren did not really want to discuss his possible date with history. Good thing. History will have to wait.
Holmgren last night was attempting to become the first coach to ever guide two different teams to Super Bowl victory. He broke through following the 1996 season when his Packers beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. In his seventh year with the Seahawks, Holmgren got a taste of the big game once again but his team, the No. 1 seed out of the NFC, was not able to hang with the Steelers long enough in a 21-10 loss at Ford Field.
“Any time you get this far and lose this game, it’s a tremendous disappointment,” Holmgren said. “As happy as the other locker room is, that’s how disappointed we are. I’m more disappointed in how we played in certain areas.
“I think we were careless with the football and we had way too many penalties. That combination against a great team like the Steelers is not a good combination, so I think that was pretty much the story of the game.”
The Seahawks had a first-half touchdown called back on an interference penalty on receiver Darrell Jackson and what should have been an 18-yard pass to tight end Jerramy Stevens to the Pittsburgh 1-yard line in the fourth quarter called back by a holding penalty on right tackle Sean Locklear. There was also a 20-yard punt return wiped out by a holding call on linebacker Kevin Bentley. They also had several dropped passes, and an interception thrown by Matt Hasselbeck.
“We had a great week of practice, we did things very, very well,” Holmgren said. “There were some guys who made some great plays and great catches out there but we did drop the ball, uncharacteristically. The thing that bothers me as much as anything else was the penalties.”
Steelers coach Bill Cowher, after 14 years in Pittsburgh, badly needed this victory on his resume and for his legacy. Holmgren’s seven years in Seattle did not produce the desired results until this season, when he secured his first playoff victory with the Seahawks.
Afterward, Holmgren wanted the Seahawks to know that the greatest season in the 30-year history of the franchise should not be dismissed because of the sour ending.
“He just told us he was proud of the effort that we put in this year,” defensive end Bryce Fisher said, “and just because we lost this game the season wasn’t a waste and we have to play better on the big stage.”