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Former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Holmgren, who helped return the Packers to success after decades of mediocrity, was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Ron Wolf, the great former Packers general manager and the man who hired him, introduced him in front of a sold out audience in the Lambeau Field atrium.
Holmgren coached the team for seven seasons, guiding the team to a winning record in each of them, a playoff appearance in six of them and a playoff win in five of them. He is, of course, best remembered for his victory in Super Bowl XXXI and his two consecutive Super Bowl appearances. He left the team in 1998 when the Seattle Seahawks offered him the opportunity to be both the coach and general manager.
In his introduction, Wolf summed up exactly how successful Holmgren was and how instrumental he was in helping the Packers turn around their fortunes.
"I mean, for 24 years after Lombardi left, there were four winning seasons here. And one of those seasons shouldn't even count; it was the strike year. So just think about that, 24 years, they had three winning seasons. He comes here and never has a losing season."
In his induction speech, Holmgren talked about how the team has continued to be successful, and how he's proud of his contribution to this generation of Packers football.
"I just think, how good are the Packers now. What's happened since 1992, as opposed to what had happened prior to 1992 for all those years. I just have to look at the stadium and walk through here. I mean it is unbelievable how things have changed. I had a little part of that, a little thing to do with that, and I'll feel good about that."
The man had a street named after him a decade before he entered the Packers Hall of Fame for good reason. He helped turn the Packers around, and thanks to him, I've only known a couple of bad seasons in my time following the team.
