Jim Mora will succeed Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren in the 2009 season.
After serving as the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach for one more season, Mora will begin a new, four-year contract as the head coach.
Holmgren made his retirement announcement now, so players who are poised to enter free agency next month can know who Seattle's coach will be beyond next season.
The former Atlanta coach took the Falcons to the NFC championship in 2004, his first season in Atlanta. The Falcons, 26-22 under Mora, fired him on New Year's Day 2007.
Holmgren, 59, announced two weeks ago that he would fulfill only the final season of his contract in 2008 and then leave the team after 10 seasons. He is the team's all-time leader in coaching victories with 86. He has 170 wins in 16 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle.
Redskins -- Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo spent most of yesterday morning meeting with Washington owner Daniel Snyder, and their discussions continued well into the evening. That's on top of the 90 minutes the two spent on the phone Monday evening and the first face-to-face portion of the interview at Snyder's house Tuesday night. The talks ran late Tuesday, with Spagnuolo spending the night in a guesthouse on the owner's property, as other candidates have done during the team's monthlong coaching search.
Jagaurs -- Recently fired Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams became Jacksonville's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He replaces Mike Smith, who left to become the head coach of the Falcons.
Spygate -- Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league has been in touch with representatives of former Patriots assistant coach Matt Walsh, now a golf pro in Maui. Walsh reportedly videotaped the Rams' walk-through the day before New England's Super Bowl win in February 2002, and was not interviewed as part of the NFL's investigation into New England's illegally taping opposing coaches in the past two years.
Obituary -- Ken Konz, a safety with Cleveland in the 1950s, died Tuesday of complications from pneumonia, the team said. He was 79. He played seven years, all with the Browns, before retiring after the 1959 season. Konz is fourth on the Browns career interceptions list with 30.