By Mike Kahn
CBS SportsLine Executive Editor
Oct. 25, 1998

Eight weeks into the NFL season, and there are two teams still standing with the omnipotence of a zero in the loss column, one in each conference.

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Nobody predicted it, but few would have been startled by the prospect of the Super Bowl XXXII champion Denver Broncos still being unblemished.

Everybody is surprised by the ascension of the Minnesota Vikings to the land of the undefeated. It has been particularly remarkable and endearing with the return to prominence of quarterback Randall Cunningham because of the injury to Brad Johnson.

So where does this leave the Green Bay Packers, the defending NFC champions and the winners of Super Bowl XXXI?

DON'T COUNT THEM OUT OF THE NFCrace, that's for sure. Anybody would be foolish to think the Vikings have the Central Division, let alone the NFC, locked up with a two-game lead over the Packers and still nine games remaining. But something is stinky in Cheeseland, and it's not hard to figure out.

Most NFL insiders would be surprised if coach Mike Holmgren returns next season.

Now to blame Holmgren for the 37-24 loss to the Vikings at Lambeau and 27-20 defeat at Detroit in consecutive weeks leading up to Sunday's easy 28-10 win over the Ravens would be unfair and essentially wrong.

Nonetheless, there are those who believe the edge is gone, and the reasons are as obvious as the way each homegrown stockholder in the Packers organization measures success. This is their home and they love their team. This is not Holmgren's home, and he and his wife are ready to move back to the West Coast. His fourth and youngest daughter graduates from high school this year, then all four will be out of the house.

Mike Holmgren could be Packing it in this year. (Allsport)

It's time to reconsider life's priorities.

Holmgren, in his seventh season as the Packers coach, has amassed an impressive 69-34 record (.670), including a sparkling 42-13 the past three-plus seasons for a .764 winning percentage during that time. With the exception of the Vince Lombardi Era, no other time in team history has experienced more success.

But people who know Holmgren know he would rather go home.

AND HIS HOMETOWN San Francisco 49ers are waiting for him. Yes, Holmgren will still be under contract with the Packers. He also has an out that Packers general manager Ron Wolf had to put in his contract. Should Holmgren get an opportunity to be a general manager, or serve the dual role of general manager and coach, he has the right to leave.

The latter couldn't happen immediately with the Niners. The former is obvious. With the defection of team president Carmen Policy to the new Cleveland franchise and the impending exit of football operations vice president Dwight Clark to either Cleveland or Carolina , the door would be open to hire Holmgren to run the football operations.

How would that sit with coach Steve Mariucci? It doesn't really matter. Holmgren was an assistant coach there (first as quarterbacks coach, then offensive coordinator) from 1986-91. Running the Niners is his dream job. Would he ultimately become their head coach, too? Probably, but that's not the point coming out of the chute here.

The relationship he had with Eddie DeBartolo, who has returned to power with the organization, is the key. If Eddie wants him, he'll get him. It's as simple as that.

There is also the strong possibility Holmgren could be enticed by getting the combination offer from the Seattle Seahawks to be both general manager and coach. Seattle is comparable enough in both physical and mental climate to San Francisco to be attractive. That would mean replacing the beleaguered Dennis Erickson, whose club barely escaped an upset loss to theSan Diego Chargers Sunday. Ironically, former Niners coach George Seifert, now an analyst for CBS and Holmgren's former boss with the Niners, seems a more likely fit in Seattle.

CONSEQUENTLY, THAT STILL BRINGS HOLMGREN back to the Bay Area if he so desires. He played high school football there, coached high school football there and was an assistant coach at San Francisco State University as well. The only time in his career he was out of the Bay Area was during his four years as quarterbacks coach at Brigham Young, and his time in Green Bay.

Now at age 50, and with the empty nest syndrome about to hit he and his wife, The City by the Bay beckons, and that Bay has nothing to do with green.

Indeed, the Packers still have what it takes to win the NFC and maybe even another Super Bowl if they get it back together again. The talent is still there, although thinning. And as long as Brett Favre is quarterback, they are capable of winning every game they play. But for the long haul, and that means beginning next year, the clock is ticking on Holmgren's long-range commitment.

It might not be at the core of the Packers' present vulnerability. And all appearances say the fire in Holmgren's belly isn't close to being doused. But the return to grace for this storied franchise has been completed.

The time is coming to replace hot chocolate with hot lattes, and he knows it.