Questions Abound

I know only this: Jon Kitna will be back.

Roll the dice on the rest - Seattle Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson, his staff, Warren Moon, John Friesz, Chris Warren, Kevin Mawae, Howard Ballard, Winston Moss, the Blades brothers.

Seattle ended the season with a 38-9 drubbing of San Francisco’s second team on Sunday in the Kingdome. The Seahawks opened an off-season that will be stocked with questions.

Erickson sensed as much. He said he would address inquiries about the season today.

Asked what he told the team after the game, Erickson said, “Congratulations for a great win, and we’ll see you next year.”

He was content to thank his players for not Raider-ing it at the finish line. He received a Gatorade shower on the sidelines from receivers Mike Pritchard and James McKnight.

“As much as he’s been through the last three weeks, with all the talk in the papers and in the media, we wanted to take his mind off it and just have fun,” Pritchard said. “This is a game, and you can still have fun.”

Fun doesn’t describe what might come next for this franchise. Erickson’s fate is in the hands of new ownership and a yet-to-be-hired general manager. Bob Whitsitt, president of Football Northwest, has a track record of employing a quick trigger finger. Usually, new management means new coaches.

In a perfect world, Latrell Sprewell would choke Bill Romanowski, who would spit on Mike Tyson, who would nibble a chunk of lobe off Billy Joe Hobert, who would crease his playbook by beating up Sprewell.

And the hard-luck Friesz, who lost his starting job with a broken thumb in Week 1, would never suffer so much as an in-grown toenail the rest of his career.

Sorry to report that the world ain’t perfect. But you knew that already.

One gets the feeling that if the Seahawks wanted Erickson back, they would have mentioned it to him by now. That was Week 16 that just went into the record books.

So, what happens to Moon? He has hinted at retirement. He clearly remains effective, though the calendar would argue differently. Friesz is scheduled to make $2.3 million next year, but will Seattle part with that much if he’s third string?

Cheney, the sequel?

The argument for keeping Erickson centers on maintaining stability and rewarding slight gains on the field, though that improvement was barely reflected during the season.

Seattle’s personnel is eons better than it was 2-3 years ago. The defense is legitimate and the offense was productive.

Additionally, it should be noted that Erickson, in his first two seasons, had little freedom to sign free agents because ex-owner Ken Behring was saving up to pay moving costs. It’s only fair to point out Seattle’s injury list was longer than most of the scrolls dropping into Santa’s lap these days.

For every point in favor of Erickson, though, there is a counterpoint. Injuries were frequent, but Kansas City and San Francisco had their share of owies, too.

Fans would probably sneeze at stability if the Seahawks landed George Seifert and his Super Bowl resume as the new coach.

And that hideous start - the 41-3 loss to the Jets and the 35-14 setback to Denver - sapped the momentum from a prosperous off-season. Seattle recovered to be 6-4, but suffered a crippling loss to New Orleans.

Regardless, the Seahawks weren’t pointing fingers at Erickson as they tried to explain an 8-8 season that felt more like 6-10.

“We don’t have any control over that,” cornerback Willie Williams said. “It’s business. I had to leave the Steelers to come here. It’s business. These coaches did a great job. They brought me in and showed a lot of trust in me. Coach E (Erickson) has done a great job.”

Linebacker Chad Brown agreed, but watching the playoffs will be a new experience.

“This is my first time not in the postseason from back in Pop Warner. I have always been in a bowl game or the playoffs.

“There were a number of positives (Sunday). It allows us to feel good for a couple days and enjoy the holidays until I see the Chiefs in the playoffs and realize we should have beaten them twice.”

If Erickson did coach his last game, somebody will inherit a team much better than the one Erickson did three years ago.

If Erickson returns, I’ll be surprised.

, DataTimes