According to WKYC-TV in Cleveland, the Browns have offered Mike Holmgren a contract in the $8-10 million per year range to be their football “czar.”

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Holmgren has indicated he’d like to speak with the Seahawks about their vacant general manager position, but the team is in the process of evaluating its own situation and has hired a search firm to come up with possible candidates.
While Cleveland might be content to wait some time for an answer, the Browns can’t be put on hold indefinitely. So it will be interesting to see if Holmgren’s situation there — and a leaked pronouncement that he’s been offered a job — will prod the Seahawks into action.

Seems like this one could go one of two ways. Either the Seahawks will grow tired of being publicly pushed into a quick decision on Holmgren and eliminate him from consideration, or decide they need to move quickly to secure their man.
Meanwhile, Holmgren must decide whether he’s wants to take the first job offered to him in Cleveland, or hold out on the Seahawks or other potential openings when the season concludes in January.

Unless it’s a money issue, I don’t know why the Seahawks wouldn’t act quickly to bring Holmgren back to Seattle as their general manager. The position is open with the departure of Tim Ruskell, so unless Seattle expects to land Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher, it’s perplexing why they wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to bring back Holmgren if he indeed wants the job.

That said, I don’t blame them for not wanting to make a snap decision. But if Holmgren does go elsewhere, the Seahawks better land a capable GM, because Jim Mora isn’t a miracle worker. He’s not the type of head coach that gets the most out of his players; he needs talent in order to succeed or else he’s an average NFL coach at best.

Kudos to the Browns for being aggressive by offering Holmgren a contract. They realize they have a problem at the top and need someone with credibility to come in and rebuild the organization from the ground up. It’ll be interesting to see if they land Holmgren.

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According to the Akron Beacon-Journal, the Browns held a meeting with former Seahawks and Packers coach Mike Holmgren on Monday. The meeting was to gauge Holmgren’s interest in becoming a football “czar” for the Browns next season.

It’s not known if Holmgren would accept a job immediately; he’s a thoughtful guy who probably would want to think things through. But team owner Randy Lerner is working hard to convince Holmgren the Browns would be right for him.

As for Mangini’s future, many rumors and reports have trickled out of Berea that the win over Pittsburgh guarantees that Mangini will be back in 2010.

What the win did was make the Browns 2-11, and Randy Lerner has to be aware of that reality.

Lerner, though, will not force his will on the new football leader. The team’s owner will have input into the coach, but he will not force a decision on someone he hires to run his football operations.

Holmgren would absolutely be a great fit for Cleveland. He would bring credibility to the job and a proven track record, which are two things that are incredibly valuable to an organization like the Browns.

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According to a report by ESPN.com, the Cleveland owner Randy Lerner will contact former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren to run the Browns.

Holmgren is itching to return to football and the opportunity he would have in Cleveland would be an attractive one. Lerner is looking for someone to perform for the Browns the same role that vice president of football operations Bill Parcells performs for the Dolphins. The job, for the time being, is Holmgren’s to lose.

If Holmgren were to take it — and there are some people who think he still would prefer to coach — he would be returning to the Midwest, where he built his reputation as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Holmgren is one of at least four names on Lerner’s wish list, though he is considered the top target. The others are former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay and former Packers general manager Ron Wolf.

Holmgren’s track record speaks for itself. He’s coached three different Super Bowl teams and built the Seahawks into a consistent division winner and playoff contender. He knows how to build a team from the ground up, which is exactly what the Browns need right now.

And if you’re Lerner, why wouldn’t you allow Holmgren to coach if that was the only stipulation in luring him to Cleveland? Eric Mangini has been a disaster to this point and there is little to no hope on the horizon. Lerner should have no qualms about firing Mangini and replacing him with someone with a resume like Holmgren’s.

If Lerner can’t get Holmgren, either Accorsi, McKay or Wolf would be solid choices, although it might be tough to get Wolf, who has had opportunities to return as a general manager and has declined them.