Seahawks expect Rhodes to return soon

KIRKLAND, Wash. – After meeting with Ray Rhodes on Wednesday morning, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren believes he’ll have his defensive coordinator back in the near future.

“I went over to his home, and he’s very, very upset that he can’t make it to (Sunday’s) game,” Holmgren said of Rhodes, who was hospitalized earlier this week after a bout with dizziness. “But our hope is we’ll have him back in the building next week.”

Rhodes was resting comfortably at his Eastside home one day after being released from an area hospital. While Rhodes won’t be able to accompany the Seahawks in Jacksonville this weekend, Holmgren said that the Seattle defensive coordinator was eager to get back to work.

“He’s never been a tremendous patient, so we just have to be real smart with this,” Holmgren said. “… We will make sure he does the right thing. The doctors, it’s all up to them.”

Holmgren did not expound upon the source of Rhodes’s dizziness.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Holmgren said. “Every day he feels a little bit better. His big thing was his equilibrium. He has dizzy spells. (Wednesday) he felt better; he told me that.”

Linebackers coach John Marshall handled Rhodes’ duties on Wednesday. Marshall will coordinate the defense from the press box Sunday, when the Seahawks face the Jaguars in Jacksonville.

“We better play just as well if Coach Rhodes is here as if he’s not here,” defensive end Grant Wistrom said. “It’s not like he hasn’t been here preparing for this game. He started preparing for this game when the schedule came out.”