Hawks team plane stops in S. Dakota after Rhodes falls ill

KIRKLAND — Seahawks defensive assistant Ray Rhodes felt faint on the team flight home from Sunday's loss at Chicago.

The plane made an emergency landing in Rapid City, S.D., where Rhodes was taken to a hospital and stayed overnight. He is on his way back to Seattle, and the diagnosis was that this was different than the mild stroke Rhodes suffered before the 2005 season.

Sunday's incident was more related to nutrition, coach Mike Holmgren said.

"The football game didn't have anything to do this, apparently," Holmgren said. "It was more dehydration on his diet and how he doesn't eat enough on the day of the game or drink enough orange juice. It can be controlled better."

Rhodes is the team's former defensive coordinator, but he suffered a mild stroke before Seattle's first game in 2005 and was hospitalized again later in the season. This year, he is a special assistant for the defense, but his role on the team won't necessarily change, because precautions can be taken to prevent a recurrence.

Rhodes complained of feeling ill while on board the aircraft after it took off from Chicago following Sunday night's Seahawks-Bears game. Team doctors Brad Shoup and Kevin Auld determined that the 757 needed to land so Rhodes could be examined as a precautionary measure.

Rhodes stayed overnight in South Dakota with Shoup. He was released from the hospital today and they were returning to Seattle.

The Seahawks' flight arrived in Seattle after 4 a.m. today.

Rhodes' recent history made the Seahawks doctors err on the side of caution.

"Had it been someone else, I don't know this, but I'm guessing, there's a possibility we could have flown all the way to Seattle and taken care of it here," Holmgren said. "They did absolutely the right thing, and it worked out."