Jake Delhomme must have comprising photos of Mike Holmgren, because that’s the only logical explanation as to why the Browns are set to pay the former Panther QB $7 million in 2010.

I’m trying to give Holmgren the benefit of the doubt in his first season with the Browns, even though some of the decisions thus far have been a little head scratching. But this latest move is making it awfully hard for me to do that. There’s absolutely no reason to give a washed up Jake Delhomme $7 million, because chances are high that no other team would have. This kind of financial commitment signals that Holmgren wants Delhomme to be his starter in 2010, which is absolutely ludicrous.

Delhomme was so bad last year that he made guys like Kerry Collins, Shaun Hill and whatever puss the Bills trotted onto the field look good. While he did turn in good efforts against the Falcons (twice) and Redskins, the rest of Delhomme’s season was highly forgettable. His skills have obviously deteriorated and his 8:18 touchdown to interception ratio proves that his decision-making isn’t quite up to par these days either. He was absolutely brutal against the Eagles in the opener and in his last game as a starter against the Jets. In fact, he was so bad against New York that most people figured that he had taken his last snap as a regular starter in the NFL. Most people outside of Holmgren, that is.

I’m willing to bet that Seneca Wallace beats out Delhomme in preseason and becomes the Browns’ starting quarterback for 2010. And if that happens, then Holmgren’s decision to give Delhomme $7 mil will look even worse. I just don’t get it. I don’t get what Holmgren saw in Delhomme last year that made him believe that he could be his starting quarterback in 2010. The only thing I can think of is that Holmgren is trying to submarine Eric Mangini so that he can get rid of him after 2010. Because there’s no way Mangini will succeed if Delhomme winds up being the starter.

Oh, and Rick Smith has my vote for 2010 Agent of the Year. Delhomme will make $19.7 million this season, which is so unbelievable that I might pass out on my keyboard before I complete this sentenohowg1hglwerkgh.gr…#

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According to Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Panthers’ head coach John Fox is reportedly “very interested” in the Browns’ job if it becomes available this offseason.

1. Fox is “very interested” in the possibility, according to a league source.

2. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson would be willing to arrive at a contract settlement to get out of the $6 million owed Fox for the 2010 season.

3. Richardson, seeing a potential owners’ lockout in 2011, would not replace Fox with Bill Cowher, but might promote from within.

4. Behind the scenes, most if not all of Mike Holmgren’s coaching and executive “ready lists” are made up of clients of agent Bob LaMonte. Fox is in that stable.

This doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Richardson allow Fox to go if he wasn’t going to replace him with Cowher? The Panthers have been the model of inconsistency under Fox over the past couple years, but his teams always play hard and usually find a way to finish respectable. So why allow Fox to jettison if Cowher (who has been linked to Carolina before) wasn’t going to be his replacement? (Unless there’s an internal candidate that Richardson really wants to promote that I’m just not aware of.)

The Browns have an interesting dilemma on their hands with Eric Mangini. Cleveland finished the season winning four in a row, including a 13-6 victory over the defending champion Steelers in mid December. But this was also the same team that looked completely inept for 13 weeks under Mangini, so why should Holmgren believe that Mangini has the Browns heading in the right direction? Four wins over the Steelers, Chiefs, Raiders and Jaguars is nice, but that’s the only thing they were: Four wins over the Steelers, Chiefs, Raiders and Jaguars.

We’ll see if there’s any teeth to this Fox rumor and monitor Holmgren’s big decision regarding Mangini.

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The Seattle Times is reporting that Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell will resign on Thursday.

His departure creates an opening atop the Seahawks’ football operations, and speculation will turn immediately to Mike Holmgren, who coached the Seahawks for 10 years. He has expressed a desire to return to the NFL after taking this year off, and it is believed Seattle would be his first choice.

Once Ruskell’s departure becomes official, it will become more clear where Holmgren fits into the franchise’s framework for the future, though it should be noted the league’s hiring protocol for a vacancy like this would require the franchise to interview at least one minority candidate.

This will be an interesting story to follow, because Holmgren is coveted from other teams as well. The Browns have already shown interest and there are sure to be more openings that pop up in the offseason.

My question is, does Holmgren want to be a GM and a head coach or just a GM? If he wants to do both, one would think that he would go outside the organization and start over. If he just wants to be a GM, then he’s likely to stay in Seattle and work with Jim Mora.

One thing is for sure: Holmgren will have a variety of options this offseason.

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