Mora gone fishing

Well, Jim Mora, Jr., hailed successor to Mike Holmgren and local boy, has been canned by the Seattle Seahawks today. No more than a few hours ago, I got a text from a buddy stating the fact. This is obviously big news for Seahawk fans and sports fans alike.

Jay Glazer once again broke big news of this development. Which leads me to ask, how does Jay Glazer get all of the good news breaks? I mean, he's everywhere.

Even with the gray weather everywhere, for some reason this news gave me a little pep in my step. Here's a reason why I think there's a little pep in the fan's steps. Mora never felt like a true head coach. There were things leading up to Mora's firing that just made sense from a fan's point of view. From a sports writer's point of view. A year ago when Mora was placed as a successor to the legend of Mike Holmgren, it felt a bit pushed. As if former GM Tim Ruskell wanted us to like Mora whether we did or not. Yes, he was a local boy and went to University of Washington. And yes, he's buddy-buddy with local sports personality Hugh Millen. But there was something missing. We felt obligated to like Mora because of his Northwest ties. And so we tried. And tried. And tried. But things never really clicked with Mora. Like I said, it felt forced. Like it was of convenience that we just kind of settled for Mora.

Now, why would he have been fired? Mora never felt like he was one of us. He never felt like a true Seahawk. First off, it wasn't his 5-11 record that got him fired. It wasn't even losing four in a row to end the season. It's how they lost. It's how he handled those 11 losses. I was at the Bears-Seahawks game where I witnessed not only a communication breakdown between the fans and team, a frustrating turn of events that led Seneca Wallace and the entire offense to become utterly helpless, and the defense look as if it were in the preseason, but a turning point in our franchise. Losing those last four losses of the end of the season by a total of 106-24. 106-24! There is no excuse for a team to look that bad. To throw a kicker under the bus. We have a new expectation of this team. Paul Allen knows it. Tod Lewieke knows it. To be successful, the fans have to be outspoken. The fans have to look for more. The owners and CEO's can't settle for mediocrity. And the firing of Mora proves that the Seahawks are finally serious again about winning.

Now, onto potential hirings. First, general manager must be a top priority. And because Seattle has neither a GM nor a head coach, it says to me that they're looking for a similar formula that put the Seahawks in the forefront of the league in the early Aughts. Getting someone with mass amounts of experience and put them in either front office GM duties or have a combination of coach/GM or coach/player personnel guy. Someone like Holmgren, but not Holmgren. Someone who has been to the Super Bowl and knows what type of organization it will take to lead them to the promise land. Here are a few names:

Jon Gruden. I know he's tied up with ESPN, but you can't say that Paul Allen won't be able to lure Gruden out of ESPN.

Bill Cowher. I know he's the remembering face of the Pittsburgh Steelers and former enemy No.1, but he's been there and won a ring. He knows what it takes to make a good team. He is old school and he's a good defensive minded guy. Something the Seahawks have always needed.

Tony Dungy. Once again, someone who has led a team to the promise land. A great fit for Seattle. A bit passive, but very intuitive and very insightful. Someone who would bring football intelligence.

Brian Billick. Again, he's in the booth right now but he's also won one. A similar situation to the rest.

What do these men have in common? They're proven head coaches who have big giant rings around their their fingers.

But here is a little nugget that I'm learning. Pete Carroll from USC? Who knows. I hear they're after him.