KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Mike Holmgren told his players Monday he expects to be back with the Seattle Seahawks next fall.

His role or roles, however, remained as cloudy as the Seattle winter sky.

Holmgren met with team president Bob Whitsitt to map out his future amid reports he might be asked to relinquish his general manager title but remain as coach. He left team headquarters late Monday without speaking to reporters.

Holmgren was to address the media at a news conference Tuesday.

That left everyone to speculate on what will happen.

"He'll be back. We're too good,'' running back Shaun Alexander said. "You don't give away talent like this for someone else to go win a Super Bowl. I think we're going to win the Super Bowl, either next year or the year after.''

Holmgren wasn't available for interviews but met for 20 minutes with players one day after the Seahawks beat San Diego 31-28 in overtime, closing the season with three consecutive victories to finish 7-9.

"He said a lot of the typical stuff: what we need to do for next year, what we need to do in the offseason,'' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "He showed himself more as a person than he does during the season.''

"I hope to God he's here,'' quarterback Trent Dilfer said. "He's the finest head coach I've ever played for and I admire him greatly. I really hope for the opportunity to play for him again.''

Holmgren is 31-33 since arriving as coach and general manager in 1999. The Seahawks went 9-7, 6-10 and 9-7 in Holmgren's first three seasons, with one playoff appearance: a 20-17 loss to Miami in the 1999 wild-card round.

He signed a $32 million, eight-year contract to handle the dual jobs in Seattle after coaching the Green Bay Packers to a 75-37 record and two Super Bowl appearances, including a 35-21 victory over New England in Super Bowl XXXI.

Holmgren is credited with identifying and acquiring promising young players like receivers Koren Robinson and Darrell Jackson, and Hasselbeck blossomed over the final month of this season under Holmgren's guidance.

On the other hand, Holmgren was criticized for the holdout and eventual departure of receiver Joey Galloway in 1999.

After last season, Holmgren cited concerns about Levon Kirkland's weight when he released the former All-Pro linebacker. Kirkland signed with Philadelphia and became a leader for the NFL's fourth-ranked defense.

"I have no opinion about that,'' cornerback Willie Williams said when asked about Holmgren's results as general manager. "If a coach can be a GM and get the wins, then it's great. I don't know what's going to happen.''

The Seahawks opened the 2002 season with playoff aspirations but slumped to a 0-3 start for the first time in Holmgren's 11 NFL seasons. They were beset by injuries to several key starters before their dramatic late-season improvement.

"We expected to be a lot better this season,'' linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski said. "It was tough, but it's also a big plus. We have something to look forward to. It's got to carry over at some point.''

Regardless of Holmgren's future, some changes appear imminent. The defense was among the NFL's worst all season and several reports suggested some of Holmgren's defensive coaches will be fired, including coordinator Steve Sidwell.

"I would expect changes to be made,'' linebacker Chad Brown said. "Just like every year, there's going to be 20 new guys on the team and every year there's going to be turnover on the staff. How, when and why, I can't say.''