ORLANDO, Fla. -- Nearly two months after his Seattle Seahawks lost the Super Bowl, Mike Holmgren is still feeling the pain.
Especially about the officiating.
"To have the story of the Super Bowl be the officials, that is crazy," Holmgren said Wednesday.
Holmgren wasn't pounding-the-table angry. He was his normal self: calm, rational, even a little laid-back. But he said he's still stinging from the 21-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, in part because he knows his team didn't play very well; in part because of a series of calls that went against the Seahawks at critical times in the game.
He has said that before.
At a rally at Qwest Field after the team returned from the game in Detroit, he told the fans: "We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts, as well."
Holmgren was not fined by the league for those remarks, even though most coaches are disciplined when they publicly criticize officiating.
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Wednesday that he had a letter from his staff sitting on his desk informing Holmgren that he was being fined. But, remembering Holmgren's contributions to the league during his 14 seasons in Green Bay and Seattle -- and how much Holmgren helped Tagliabue do his job -- the commissioner never mailed it.
"So I adhered to a rule that I learned long ago that the first draft of a letter is better put in the trash can," the commissioner said. "The issue is resolved."
Holmgren said that as he watched the Super Bowl unfold, he kept thinking: "We're due (for a call)."
"It was an unusual game and I don't think you ever really get over it," he added. "You think about it for years. It was devastating."
There were four critical calls that went against the Seahawks, starting with offensive interference in the end zone against Darrell Jackson in the first quarter, negating what would have been the game's first touchdown. Replays showed that Jackson's arms made contact with Pittsburgh safety Chris Hope before they separated -- technically pass interference, but often a "no call."
