The Super Bowl-winning coach accepted a job to
become the club's president on Monday, joining a franchise needing a
major makeover after a decade of losing.
Browns owner Randy Lerner said the sides
reached an agreement on Monday. Lerner said current president Mike
Keenan will transition to the role of chief financial officer.
"We will spend the rest of the week finalizing
the details of the agreement and will make a formal announcement next
week," Lerner said in a statement.
Holmgren is coming to Cleveland strictly in an
executive role. On his radio show last week, Holmgren indicated his job
offer with the Browns could include a return to the sideline. But
Holmgren's duties likely will focus on personnel decisions, and there's
a chance he may bring in a general manager to help him.
It's still not known what effect Holmgren's
hiring will have on first-year Cleveland coach Eric Mangini, who
improved to 3-11 on Sunday following a 41-34 victory over the Kansas
City Chiefs. Mangini may have strengthened his chances of staying for
at least another year after leading the Browns to consecutive wins.
Holmgren, though, could choose to replace
Mangini with his own coach to try and turn around the Browns, who have
lost at least 10 games in six of the past seven seasons and made the
AFC playoffs just once since 1999.
On Saturday, the 61-year-old Holmgren turned
down a front-office position to return to the Seattle Seahawks,
sparking speculation that he was headed to Cleveland.
Holmgren said he was intrigued by the
opportunity to join Cleveland because of the absence of "layers"
between him and Lerner, who in November announced he was looking to add
a "serious, credible leader" to his organization. Holmgren spent two
days meeting with Lerner last week and came away impressed by the
owner's passion to win and what he learned about the Browns.
Holmgren stepped down as the Seahawks coach
after last season to spend more time with his family. However, the
chance to rebuild another franchise was too much for him to resist and
he's stepping out of semi-retirement to take on the Browns, who have
desperately needed someone of his renown for years.