Alexander has no hard feelings toward Seattle

They don't boo Shaun Alexander any more. At least not those people the former Seahawks star chooses to notice around Seattle during his current unemployment.

"Older men, they go, 'Shaun, we'll never forget those teams you were on! Those were great teams!' Older women, they kiss me on my face. And kids try to jump in my car," a laughing Alexander said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, in which the former NFL MVP also declared he is ready for a comeback season and thinks he'll sign with another team soon.

"I've been warmly loved by the people of Seattle."

That's the first time in 2 1/2 years anyone has said that.

The Seahawks' career leader in rushing and touchdowns is one of the more polarizing stars in the city's sports history. Yet he sounds comfortable with the legacy he expects to leave behind in Seattle when he signs the contract he thinks is coming soon. He said Friday a handful of teams has been calling him regularly for months.

"I think my legacy here will be just like it was in Alabama," Alexander said, referring to where he became that school's all-time leading rusher before the Seahawks drafted him 19th overall. "People will say, 'Man, we had some great times when he was here.

"After the smoke clears, they'll say, 'You know what? That Shaun Alexander, he did all right when he was here. I think there will be more smiles when the smoke clears."

And, yes, there is still criticism smoldering around Seattle about Alexander.

Last week, coach Mike Holmgren was discussing the advantages of having Alexander's replacements split time as lead backs this season. Maurice Morris, Alexander's longtime backup, will start Sunday's season opener at Buffalo. Former Cowboys starter Julius Jones may be in that role next week against San Francisco.

"I think it's a good thing because I don't have to think so much about protections. I can just call the play. I don't have to think so much about the pattern, because they're very good pass receivers," Holmgren said.

It was an indirect indictment of Alexander for his problems catching the ball and pass blocking, especially while he had a cast on his broken wrist last season.

Sure, every one loved him when he set a franchise record with 1,880 yards rushing and a then-league record 28 touchdowns in that wondrous 2005 season, when Alexander led the Seahawks into their only Super Bowl. But when Alexander's production dropped to career lows in the following two seasons while he had a broken foot, that broken wrist, a sprained knee and a changing, often ineffective offensive line, thousands of home fans booed him every time he touched the ball.

Heck, by the middle of last season, they even cheered when Holmgren removed him from the game on third downs.

Alexander, 31, set career lows as a starter with 716 yards rushing and four touchdowns in 2007. Seattle won its fourth consecutive NFC West title in spite of Alexander, not because of him.

Then in April, the Seahawks unceremoniously cut him just two seasons into the eight-year, $62 million deal - with $15.1 million guaranteed - he signed in March 2006.

Now, he thanks the Seahawks for keeping him informed of their intentions with him right up until they released him.

"I knew everything they were going to do," he said. "The hardest part was with me talking to the guys: Lofa (Tatupu), Matt (Hasselbeck), Big Walt (Jones). I was like, 'OK, fellas, this is what's going on.

"They were like, 'What?!!'"

"But for me, that was just part of the business of football. They had a plan. They can do what they wanted to do. I was like, 'Man ... OK. That's what they want.' But since I was in the know, I couldn't complain."

He once infamously claimed Holmgren "stabbed me in the back" for not ensuring he got the ball from the 1 in a bid to tie the New York Jets' Curtis Martin for the league rushing title at the end of the 2004 regular season. Holmgren called a quarterback sneak that Matt Hasselbeck scored on on what turned out to be Seattle's final possession.

Now he says he is "honored" that Holmgren coached him.

"I was honored that coach Holmgren shaped the offense for me," Alexander said. "He's one of the greatest offensive minds of our time, and he changed his passing-first schemes. He said, 'Hey, Shaun, we're going to rely on your running more.'"

Alexander said he still talks to his "boys" on the Seahawks regularly. Fullback Leonard Weaver, like Alexander a devout Christian, said during training camp he sees his friend a lot to share laughs and wisdom.

"I'm still close with all the guys," Alexander said. "This is coach Holmgren's last year, we all want it to be great. I've got love for those guys. I'm still invited to their barbecues."

He hasn't been to the Seahawks' luxurious new facility in suburban Renton - that would be too awkward. He said he's been invited to a big banquet that will have plenty of Seahawks there during the team's bye week at the end of this month.

"Hopefully, I won't be in town for that," he said, laughing and thinking of that signing with another team he sees as coming soon.

But he said wherever he goes next, Seattle will remain home.

"People here have always given me great love. I'm so honored," he said. "This is a great place for me."