There is a unique advantage for a coordinator that leaves one National Football League team and joins another. I had a firsthand experience of it when Ron Wolf, who I worked with while in the front office of the Oakland Raiders, had become general manager of the Green Bay Packers and had a conversation with me about hiring the San Francisco 49ers Offensive Coordinator to be his new head coach.
I had the utmost respect for Mike Holmgren and applauded Ron’s choice to lead his team. In his seven seasons with the Packers, Holmgren restored greatness to the Packers and led the team to their first Super Bowl victory since the days of Vince Lombardi.
He also dominated his old team, the 49ers.
In 1995, Holmgren led his Packers into San Francisco to meet his former team for the first time during the divisional round of the 1995 playoffs. The Packers were double-digit underdogs but upset the Niners by ten points, 27-17. The following season, the Packers and 49ers met twice, with Green Bay beating San Francisco on the road in a Week Seven matchup and again eliminating them from the playoffs in the Divisional Round at Lambeau Field. After that second win during the 1996 season, the Packers beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.
During his tenure as head coach in Green Bay Holmgren led his team into battle against the 49ers six times, won the first five contests before finally losing on a last second touchdown catch by Terrell Owens in a 1998 Wild Card game. That proved to be the last game Holmgren coached the Packers.
So, what’s the point?