KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Mike Holmgren stepped down Tuesday as general manager of the Seattle Seahawks but will remain the coach, a move that Holmgren and team officials hope will deliver a Super Bowl title someday.

"We wanted to free up Mike to do more coaching. There's only so many hours in the day,'' team president Bob Whitsitt said. "Clearly, we need Mike on the field as much as possible.''

Holmgren insisted on being the Seahawks' general manager when he left the Green Bay Packers four years ago but said he was giving up this job willingly.

"I think the biggest title you can have is Super Bowl champion,'' said Holmgren, who won the NFL title at Green Bay. "It wasn't a particularly difficult thing for me. My No. 1 goal is winning.''

The Seahawks went 7-9, missing the playoffs but finishing the season with three consecutive victories, including a 31-28 overtime win over San Diego on Sunday.

Whitsitt said he didn't have a candidate to succeed Holmgren as general manager. However, there has been speculation that he's interested in Randy Mueller, former GM of the New Orleans Saints, or giving the job to Ted Thompson, currently Seattle's vice president of football operations.

Other GM candidates who could become options are Rick Spielman of the Dolphins, Scott Pioli of the Patriots, A.J. Smith of the Chargers, Tom Modrak of the Bills, Ronnie Hill of the Falcons and Bill Tobin, formerly of the Lions.

In any case, Holmgren will still have a hand in personnel decisions.

"We're not going to make any big-picture decisions without Mike's involvement,'' Whitsitt said.

Mueller spent last season out of football after being fired by the Saints. He was the Seahawks' general manager from 1995-99.

In other changes, the Seahawks fired defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell, line coach Larry Brooks, linebackers coach Johnny Holland, secondary coach Ken Flajole and offensive assistant and quality control coach Jerry Colquitt.

"They were friends,'' Holmgren said. "We've been together a long time. It was not a very fun thing to do.''

Players have enthusiastically supported Holmgren as a coach.

"He's the finest head coach I've ever played for and I admire him greatly,'' said quarterback Trent Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl while playing for Brian Billick in Baltimore. "I really hope for the opportunity to play for him again.''

Holmgren is 31-33 since taking over 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 a 1999 wild-card game.

He signed a $32 million, eight-year contract to handle both jobs in Seattle after coaching the Packers to a 75-37 record and two Super Bowl appearances in seven seasons. Holmgren's salary or other contract terms won't change under the new arrangement.

The Seahawks opened the 2002 season with playoff aspirations, but started 0-3 for the first time in Holmgren's 11 NFL seasons. They were beset by injuries to several key starters before surging late in the season.

Still, Whitsitt said neither he nor team owner Paul Allen considered making a coaching change.

"Mike's our guy,'' he said. "Mike's been our guy. He is our guy. He's going to continue to be our guy.''

Whitsitt also spoke of someday winning the Super Bowl under Holmgren's direction. The coach was reluctant to make predictions but said he was encouraged by the team's direction this season.

"I've got to train a group of new coaches on how I do things and then maybe we'll get lucky next year, not be so banged up, and we'll see where it takes us,'' Holmgren said.

He emphasized his desire to stay with the Seahawks.

"I don't want to go anywhere,'' he said. "I've said it before: I pray this is my last coaching job. We just have to win some games, fill the stadium and hopefully do the things that got people excited in the last three games.''

Meanwhile, there have been perhaps four meetings over the past two weeks to resolve the organization's decision-making process. Whitsitt, who runs the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA, will become more involved in the football decision-making after the hiring of a general manager.

"The whole goal of those meetings and the decisions we made is to finish what we started,'' Whitsitt said. "Let's finish what we started, try and make it better, if that means moving some responsibility around to get us a chance to get to the Super Bowl, which is all our goals, our organizational goal, that's what those discussions were about."

The Associated Press and ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton contributed to this report.