Passing the torch to Mora

KIRKLAND — It took 4 minutes to get to his name.

Four minutes in which CEO Tod Leiweke and president Tim Ruskell talked about the franchise's accomplishments under Mike Holmgren, paying tribute before discussing the transition.

Only then did they get to his name: Jim Mora.

He is officially the sideline successor to the Seahawks' iconic coach. Mora agreed to a five-year contract that will begin this season and calls for his promotion to head coach beginning in 2009.

"It's a great thing for an organization to be able to do that," Ruskell said. "Say that openly, and have the head coach endorse that."

Holmgren hinted last month that declaring this his final season gave the franchise the opportunity to chart its future without the urgency that usually accompanies a coaching search. Holmgren was supportive enough to approach Leiweke and Ruskell about formalizing the arrangement. That set in motion discussions with Bob Lamonte, who represents both Holmgren and Mora, and the whole arrangement ended up pretty seamless.

"Mike Holmgren deserves enormous credit for that," Leiweke said. "Because the way he took this decision is different than I think how other people might've taken this decision. He gave us plenty of notice. He facilitated us, encouraged it, and now we have a chance to take the momentum we clearly feel we have as an organization and sustain it."

Holmgren was in Hawaii when Wednesday's announcement was made. He gave his seal of approval in a statement released by the team: "The continuity a move like this provides can only be a good thing moving forward."

Mora coached three seasons in Atlanta before he was fired after the 2006 season. He came to work as a Seahawks assistant coach last season, working with the defensive backs. He did not attend the announcement, and the franchise did its best to keep the announcement low key.

"They want the focus to be on 2008 and what we think this team is capable of doing," Ruskell said.

Seattle has a vacancy at quarterbacks coach. As head coach, Holmgren is in charge of the coaching staff, but any candidates likely would meet with Mora, too, Ruskell said.

"That just makes sense," he said.

Ruskell worked with Mora for one year in Atlanta before coming to Seattle as president in 2005. He believed Mora would be a head coach again in the NFL but didn't know if it would be with the Seahawks, though, because of Holmgren's status.

"You didn't know when coach's tenure would end," Ruskell said.

Ruskell said Mora did not come to Seattle to eventually replace Holmgren.

"Certainly he was not promised that," Ruskell said. "Part of the reason Jim Mora is here is because he wanted to be here."

Mora interviewed for Washington's vacant head-coaching job last month, but removed himself from consideration before Holmgren announced he would coach one final season. Ruskell said that while Mora's removal showed his commitment to the team and the area, it was Holmgren's decision to coach one more season and then retire that was the impetus to discuss and define Mora's future role with the Seahawks.

There are precedents for this type of arrangement in the NFL. Mike Martz had it written into his contract as an assistant coach in St. Louis that he would become the head coach. Jim Caldwell in Indianapolis will become Colts coach once Tony Dungy retires.

Appointing a successor from the coaching staff and putting that agreement in the contract is the only circumstance in which the NFL exempts teams from interviewing at least one minority candidate, a protocol commonly called the Rooney Rule. John Wooten — president of the Fritz Pollard Alliance that consults with the NFL in those type of guidelines — said Wednesday he had already spoken with Ruskell and that designating Mora a successor is within the framework of the Rooney Rule.

"This is no different than what the Indianapolis Colts did with Jim Caldwell," Wooten said. "It does not affect us in terms of the Rooney Rule at all. It does not circumvent it."

Ruskell said there are advantages to naming a successor in advance as the team has done. When the Seahawks begin courting free agents next month, or when the draft rolls around in April, there is no uncertainty about future plans.