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Mike Holmgren on the Radio

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The Hill

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This morning Mike Holmgren was on the Really Big Show on KNR. This afternoon, he'll be on Bull and the Fox on 92.3. (Thanks to Phills1 and kiji for the heads-up in this thread.)

Here is a recap from his KNR interview:

The first four minutes was a discussion of Holmgren's coaching history. Some interesting stuff if you want to hear about how he developed as a coach.

Skip ahead to 6:20 if you want to hear about the Browns. (If I were listening live I would have lost my mind with them waiting so long to discuss anything topical.)

On Wide Receivers
Seemed to confirm the rumors that Plan A was Richardson, Wright and Weeden with our first three picks. When the Titans took Wright we went to plan B, which was to take Weeden at 22.

We might have an addition to the WR group by opening day, but he likes our receivers right now.

Our WR success hinges on Mo Mass. He thinks his concussions altered his play, and that he is back from those issues. Holmgren really believes in him.

Really likes Benjamin's speed.

Wanted to come out of the draft with another good WR, but it didn't unfold that way.

On QBs
Everyone (Heckert, Shurmur and Holmgren) was on the same page in regard to Weeden.

In their pre-draft interview, Weeden told Holmgren that he feels he can play for 10 years.

Holmgren thinks Weeden's play in college speaks for itself, and also likes his arm strength and throwing motion. What he likes most is his maturity. They aren't going to hand him the job; he'll have to earn it.

Just talked to Colt McCoy earlier today. Agrees that the situation he was in last year was unfair. He got beat up and we didn't have a good running game to support him.

It is Holmgren's obligation to strengthen the team when he sees an opportunity to do so. McCoy is competing for the starting job and is handling the situation well. He is a professional.

Seneca is in the mix, too. He feels Seneca has always been underrated. He can go into a game without a lot of practice reps. Good running ability helps him as well.

On Richardson and the Draft
There were three players we felt comfortable taking at 4. But after looking at team need, it became obvious that Richardson was the best choice for us.

Richardson is special for a lot of reasons. Fans are going to love him.

Said we had Andrew Luck rated No. 1 and RG3 rated No. 2 in the draft. Richardson was rated No. 3.

Thinks RG3 is going to make the Redskins better right away.

We made a play for RG3, but we had other needs that needed to be met too. When it got to a certain point, he felt the price was too high when we had so many other things to address.

On His Job and Future
Halfway through five-year contract. He is a man of his word and he feels a contract is a contract. He wants to be here to enjoy the turnaround.

He feels the president job gets confused because of how Bill Parcells approached a similar position in Miami. Parcells handled all football issues and none of the business issues.

When Holmgren got the job, Lerner asked him to handle the "whole enchilada" -- football, business, stadium issues, suite sales, etc. When he can, he gets to coaching meetings.

Holmgren's job is to help and support the coach, personnel and the rest of his staff. He is in meetings every day with Shurmur and Heckert.

He misses coaching. There is nothing like game day. But he is happy with what he is doing now.

Expectations for 2012 Season
He expects us to make a jump this year. Will not be happy if our record doesn't improve. Believes in our coach and our people. Thinks we have to persevere.

Acknowledges that we, as Clevelanders, have heard this all before. He knows it's hard to hear again. But he believes in this group and thinks we're on the right track.

Looking at last year, if just a couple plays had gone differently (mentioned the muffed snaps on field goals with the game on the line), we would have won seven or eight games.

Will be disappointed if we don't make a jump this year. (Offhandedly, he mentioned year 4 as the one where special things can happen. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I think that is the year of their plan when we become a threat.)

In closing, mentioned that he is very excited about this year's draft.
 
Of course our game rests on, I am guessing will be Weeden, and Richardson, but our WR's need to step up. I hope Weeden makes Little improve this year too
 
2:30ish on 92.3
 
Of course our game rests on, I am guessing will be Weeden, and Richardson, but our WR's need to step up. I hope Weeden makes Little improve this year too

I think he will. Because defenses played us so tightly, Little had nowhere to go after catching the ball (his 11.8 yards per catch was 89th in the league last year). Weeden's arm strength (and, when he plays, Benjamin's speed) will both help open up the field for us and get Little some running room. I don't think 1,000 yards is a huge stretch for him.
 
I'm hoping Mass can get back to what he did as a rookie, he showed some major flashes as a rook. Injuries and poor QB play really made him regress.
 
Anybody posting the summary of the 92.3 interview? Hope they have some other questions. I feel like the current regime tells it like it is and I like that, especially when difficult questions are asked.
 
How does Holomglum sound tone wise? Optimistic?
 
I'm listening to Holmgren on 92.3 right now. I really like the guy. He's a no bullsh*t guy, and is honest in his answers. I was only able to listen to the last half of the interview, so if they post a link to the interview I'll give a recap.
 
Here is the summary of the 92.3 interview. Not terribly different from the KNR one, but he did touch on some different topics.

On the Draft
Liked the draft, although he admitted that is what everyone would say.

Had a strategy of hitting specific areas of the team where they felt we needed to improve. And we almost (he emphasized almost) got them all.

Once they made the decision that Trent was the player they'd go after, you never know if someone will hop over you to get him. They decided how far they would go to move up for him, if necessary.

Confirmed that Minnesota said we did have to move up to get the pick.

If you get your player, the rest doesn't mean a whole lot.

There was a lot of discussion after they picked Richardson over who to take next. They liked Kendall Wright a lot, but they also liked Weeden a lot. The decision was made for them.

If Wright were there at 22, they discussed how to acquire Weeden (stay at 37 or trade up). They felt they could have stayed at 37, but were not sure. After missing out on Wright, they did not want to miss out on Weeden. They felt that if he was good enough to go at 37, then they may as well take him at 22.

On His Image With Cleveland Media
Holmgren said he is not a very visible president by choice. He likes talking to fans and the media, but thinks the coach should be the one out talking to the fans and media. Based on his years of experience as a head coach, he feels it's unfair to do that as president.

He acknowledged that he might be out in the public more. But he feels that his main job is to help the coach and general manager.

Is unsure where the idea of him not being "all in" comes from. He said definitively that he is all in. He never had a job anywhere where he wasn't all in.

In response to criticism that he missed Tannehill's visit, he clarified that he had to go to Seattle to attend his grandson's dedication at their church.

He is comfortable in allowing Tom Heckert and Pat Shurmur to do their jobs.

Responding to his interview with Seattle radio, he used to work on that particular show and they were friends of his. He reaffirmed that Cleveland is where his heart and mind is. If anyone was upset by this, then he apologizes to them.

Reiterated his role as team president. (Basically the same as in the KNR interview.)

Said again that he is not the coach. That is Shurmur's job. Reaffirmed that he is there to help those guys.

On the QB Situation
There will be a competition for the starting role.

He loves Colt, but will always do whatever he can to make the team better. We got a mature QB who has the chance to contribute right away.

Pat Shurmur will have a big say in who will be the QB in Week 1.

He expects us to make a pretty big jump this season.

There was no influence at all in the comments of Colt's father. He thinks it's too bad that the comments came out. He understands his views as a father himself.

Looks at Seneca's comments different from most people. Doesn't see the role of a player to mentor others. He thinks that is the coach's job, and wants it to be the coach's job.

Would not commit to saying both McCoy and Seneca would be here Week 1.

On Peyton Hillis
Felt the Hillis situation was too bad. He thinks he's a good player, tested the market and got the kind of deal he wanted.

They talked about him coming back, but things didn't turn out that way.

They made a decision that Richardson was their guy, and that basically ended Hillis' time here.

Absolutely did not feel that Hillis quit on the team. Felt he was hurt.

On Pat Shurmur
Given the circumstances (young team, injuries, lockout, etc.), he felt he did OK.

Had to deal with a lot of things in his first year that it took Holmgren four years to deal with.

Feels he is a good football mind, communicates well with the players.

Having Childress as OC will really help. It frees up Pat to do a lot of head coach things.

Felt Pat was hard on himself, but he feels he will take a big jump this year.

Childress and Shurmur will work hand-in-hand. Having an OC gives Shurmur another 90 minutes per day to handle other things.

Did not hire an OC last year because they didn't feel the right candidate was available. They now feel we have the right guy in Childress.

On the Offense

Loves Benjamin, said he is different from the other receivers we have. Said he is "fast on fast."

Said MoMass will have a bit of a breakout year. Says he has the potential to be a very good receiver.

We should be OK at WR, but he again said that they may add a player at WR before the season.

Regarding the lack of free agency signings, said they had some players in here for visits. Also said that there are certain teams that will always outbid you if you get in a bidding war. That is what happened this year.

Their philosophy is to build through the draft and sign our own free agents because we know them best. With the money left, we will go and cherry pick in other areas.

It's not that we didn't try in free agency, it's just that it didn't happen.

On the Press Conference Comments ("You're with us or against us," "Don't ask me for playoff tickets)
Asked if he regrets those comments. "No. I was mad at the time." (I'm glad he made this comment. He was open and honest about how he felt and why he said it.)

Felt a lot of the questions he was being asked that day were not fair, which is why he was mad. (This was a pretty lighthearted part of the interview. This looks bad in print but was said in a joking way on the air.)

On the Future
Feels we will make a jump this year.

Got the impression that a jump this year does not mean playoffs. I think he means that will be 2013.

He felt the fans like the white jerseys. Did not know fans liked the brown jerseys so much. Said he has a meeting on that matter tomorrow.

He understands that fans are frustrated. He said he's frustrated after being here only three years. Can't imagine how frustrated fans must be.

He knows it's hard to be patient, but said we are working hard to make this team a winner. He thinks we are on the right track.

Basically torpedoed the old regime. Said the cupboard was pretty bare when he got here. Especially in first-round choices. Not many first-rounders were on our roster.

Said Heckert is doing a good job getting talent in here. Fans will see this soon.

Said we're good fans and we deserve a winner.
 
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Glad they're talking about bringing the brown jerseys back. I got a brown customized Sheard jersey before he ever hit the field.

Also I tend to agree we will see a jump this year. May not show up in the wins column, but we'll definitely see a jump. I've been saying all along I fully expect us to be in the playoff hunt in 2013.

He was right to torpedo the last regime, they really screwed this team hard.
 
I agree that the record this year won't be great... we've got one hell of a schedule to deal with. But I think we'll have a more exciting product on the field, which should make it worthwhile to at least watch. I'm still predicting a top ten to fifteen pick.
 
I'm not so much concerned about our record next year as I am with just being competitive in games. Our defense is pretty good and with the seemingly improved offense, we should be "in" games a lot more than last year.
 
I'm not so much concerned about our record next year as I am with just being competitive in games. Our defense is pretty good and with the seemingly improved offense, we should be "in" games a lot more than last year.

While I agree, when you think about it, we were in several of our games last season. It's actually pretty shocking when you consider how bad our offense was. Our D did a great job of keeping us in games. I'm excited to see how it works out without having quite possibly the worst offense in football.
 
While I agree, when you think about it, we were in several of our games last season. It's actually pretty shocking when you consider how bad our offense was. Our D did a great job of keeping us in games. I'm excited to see how it works out without having quite possibly the worst offense in football.

That is true. I remember a few games lost by a single play. I think it just felt like we could never really win games because of how terrible our offense was and the constant three and outs :chuckles:.
 
I'm not so much concerned about our record next year as I am with just being competitive in games. Our defense is pretty good and with the seemingly improved offense, we should be "in" games a lot more than last year.

I think this team has to get better in the win-loss department this year. At some point improvement must be reflected in the standings. Simply being competitive without winning isn't much of a feat.

With three full off-seasons under their belt, it's time to see a jump in the tangible areas- meaning, wins and losses. I think we need to see more wins, period, and more wins within the division.

This team can't keep going 4-12 or 5-11 while simultaneously bragging about how much better it is.
 

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