"Guys," Walsh mused, "I hear that August is a wonderful month."

Mike Holmgren, then an assistant with the 49ers, never forgot those words. Now, with just three weeks remaining in his 10-year stint as coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Holmgren is hearing them loud and clear.

Holmgren said his wife Kathy "has a whole list of things to do. I think she and my daughter are going back to Uganda in the springtime. Whether I go or not, I don't know yet. But there will be some interesting trips, I'm sure."

Kathy Holmgren is a nurse; daughter Calla is a doctor. They've taken humanitarian missions to some of the most remote areas of Africa. In fact, they were in Congo - with no access to television - when Holmgren's Seahawks lost to Pittsburgh 21-10 in Super Bowl XL two years ago.

Today, that level of success seems as far removed for Holmgren as his wife and daughter were then. On Sunday, the Seahawks, beset all season by a startling litany of injuries to their core players, will lug a 2-11 record into the Edward Jones Dome, where they'll take on the equally feckless Rams.

Holmgren, who announced last winter that this would be his last season in Seattle, brings a 170-110 record (regular season and postseason) to town. He's the winningest active coach in the league, and 10th overall in career victories.

In 17 years as a head coach, he'd experienced only one previous sub-.500 season. "It's been a challenge," said Holmgren, 60. "It's very difficult to go through a season like this, and I feel bad about it. I feel bad for the players, and I feel bad for the fans."

And his players feel bad for Holmgren. "We knew coming in that this was going to be Mike's last season here," quarterback Seneca Wallace said, "and we wish we could've made it a lot better season for him."

A St. Louis Start

In 1970, the St. Louis Cardinals selected a promising quarterback out of the University of Southern California in the eighth round of the draft. Given the Big Red's pitiable draft record, it's no surprise that Holmgren never made an NFL roster.

A year later, he began his coaching career at his alma mater, Lincoln High in San Francisco. Walsh hired Holmgren in 1986 as his quarterbacks coach with the 49ers; three years later, he was promoted to offensive coordinator.

After Vince Lombardi retired in 1967, the Green Bay Packers slogged through a 24-year interlude of mediocrity under five head coaches, none of whom left with a winning record. The Packers, 147-203-9 during that span, hired Holmgren in 1992.

Holmgren never had served as a head coach at any level before landing perhaps the most scrutinized job in the NFL. Still, he enjoyed instant, and sustained, success.

"Everywhere he's been, he's done a good job," Rams coach Jim Haslett said. "I've got a lot of respect for Mike. I think personally, he's one of the better guys in the league ... just a heck of a Football coach."

Holmgren's Packers qualified for the playoffs six times in seven years. Twice, they represented the NFC in the Super Bowl, knocking off New England in 1996 and falling to Denver in '97.

His record was a flashy 84-42 when he was lured to Seattle in 1999. By 2003, with his adaptation of Walsh's West Coast offense perking, Holmgren had guided the Seahawks to a double-digit win total for just the third time since the franchise was hatched in 1976.

In the seven seasons since the divisions were realigned in 2002, the Rams or the Seahawks have finished atop the NFC West standings five times. Seattle's four-year string was snapped by Arizona this season.

Under Holmgren, the Seahawks have been "consistently a good Football team that plays hard," said Rams quarterback Marc Bulger. "It's been a great rivalry for us."

Ready To Leave?

No coach wants to leave a job undone, and Holmgren laughed when asked whether he'd had second thoughts about turning over the reins to his top assistant, Jim Mora.

"Probably a little bit," Holmgren conceded. "But I thought long and hard about making the decision prior to the start of the season. You don't look back, and I don't think you second-guess something like that. I made it for the right reasons."

In addition to the travel itinerary Kathy has mapped out, Holmgren wants to spend more time with their four daughters and four granddaughters. "I'm looking very much forward to getting some time off and recharging and thinking through some stuff," he said.

Some of his thoughts will be directed toward his coaching future. He hasn't ruled out a return, which is why he's calling his departure a "sabbatical" rather than a "retirement."

"I don't think I've worked my last day at the end of the season," Holmgren said. "I hope not. I hope there will be opportunities after I take my sabbatical. But who knows?

"I'm just going to try to enjoy the time, enjoy some of the months I've never really enjoyed before, and then after that see what happens. 'Never say never' is going to be my motto."