Holmgren to stick with plan

<p>SANTA CLARA — Mike Holmgren’s Seattle Seahawks are off to a disappointing 1-5 record, but he has never been hotter in the Bay Area.</p><p>In the aftermath of the 49ers’ coaching change this week, many in the Bay Area media have suggested Holmgren as a potential 2009 addition to the organization. After all, Holmgren has already announced he will not return to the Seahawks next season.</p><p>There is also a matter of tempting logistics. After all, Holmgren — a San Francisco native — and his wife, Kathy, plan to move to into a new home in Santa Cruz next year.</p><p>“When I was at high school, at Lincoln High School, and for years, that was my dream job and it never quite came to fruition,” said Holmgren, a 49ers assistant under Bill Walsh and George Seifert from 1986 to ’91.</p><p>“But times change and right now . . . the plan for me and Kath is to take a year off after this time in Seattle. We’ve been here 10 years, and we love it here, and that’s the plan. More importantly, right now, I have to figure out a way to beat the 49ers. So that’s first and foremost.”</p><p>Holmgren, 60, will make his final Seahawks appearance at Candlestick Park on Sunday.</p><p>Some believe that Holmgren might be suited for a role as president of an organization, overseeing both the personnel department and coaching staff. He politely declined to comment on whether he could envision himself working for the 49ers in the future.</p><p>“I think it would be unfair to a lot of people, Mike Singletary, being one,” Holmgren said. “It’s too much of a hypothetical. Things in this crazy business change on a day-to-day basis. I’m going to remain fairly consistent with that, if it’s OK. I’m not going to get into it.”</p><p>When asked how he plans to spend his year away from football, Holmgren said he would ride his motorcycle and hang out at the beach.</p><p>Holmgren told a Walsh story about 49ers training camp in Rocklin.</p><p>“We’re sitting around the table at 11 o’clock at night, you know, drinking bottled water,” Holmgren said. “He (Walsh) said, ‘You know, I understand, I hear August is a pretty nice month.’ The point was, we live a different life. So we’ll see how it goes the next year.”</p><p>Holmgren later amended the story so that the beverage of choice was lemonade.</p><p>When asked if the “lemonade” had a cork in the top of the bottle, Holmgren said, “I know this, with Bill it was not a twist-off cap.”</p><p>MARTZ-SINGLETARY</p><p>The 49ers chose Mike Singletary to become the interim head coach over offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the only person on the staff with previous NFL head-coaching experience. When asked about how much input he’ll have on offense, Singletary shared an anecdote from Tuesday.</p><p>“I went in to talk to him and we were going to talk about a couple things and he said, ‘Well, what do you want to talk about? Why do you want to talk about that?’” Singletary said. “But we had fun going through that and I’m enjoying him.</p><p>“We had another conversation last night. It’s a matter of him and I continuing to get to know each other. . . . The bottom line is I have full confidence in Mike Martz and the staff going forward to do whatever they have to do to get it done.”</p><p>MOVING FORWARD</p><p>Center Eric Heitmann, who last month signed a contract extension through the 2011 season, said it is “unfortunate” the 49ers fired offensive line coach George Warhop.</p><p>“Coach Warhop has been a great coach for this O-line and for me in particular,” Heitmann said. “He’s a great coach, great person and friend. He’s been my coach here for the last four years. But as an O-line we’re going to move forward and get ready for Seattle.”</p><p>The 49ers rank last in the NFL with 29 sacks allowed in seven games. The Seahawks recorded eight sacks against the 49ers when the teams met in Week 2. Chris Foerster was promoted to offensive line coach.</p><p>EXTRA POINTS</p><p>Safety Dashon Goldson (knee) is expected to miss several games with an injury sustained Sunday against the New York Giants. Defensive end Ray McDonald (knee) and tackle Jonas Jennings (shoulder) are also not expected to play against the Seahawks.</p><p>Receiver Josh Morgan (groin), return man Allen Rossum (groin), and safeties Mark Roman (groin) and Michael Lewis (knee) did not practice Wednesday but all are expected to play Sunday.</p><p>For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@press</p><p>democrat.com.</p>