The Seattle Seahawks Franchise

Seattle Seahawks Franchise
Abstract
This paper will trace the history of the Seattle Seahawks Franchise with an aim of revealing its chronological evolvement, management problems, successes, challenges that the team has encountered as well as specific and notable achievements that have been recorded through the years since it was founded. Starting with the historical background, the paper will finally examine what the future holds for the team.
Introduction
It is undisputed that most of the massive and domineering companies in any sector of economy through out the world started small. It takes a lot of hard work, organization and determination to transform an idea to reality. Invariably, the development path is marred with myriad challenges. The Seattle Seahawks Franchise is no exemption. Overtime, Seattle Seahawks Franchise has been characterized with changes to wit that of ownership, management and of players.
Historical background
The British Franchise Association describes a franchise as a type of business in which two different companies come into an agreement allowing one business to use the trademark and business name of the bigger company at an agreed fee.

The Seattle Seahawks is a football team based in Washington, America. Currently it is a member of the West Division of the national football conference in the national football league. Brian Lester (1975) in his article on Seattle Seahawks reveals that Seattle Seahawks was founded in 1972 when a group of established businesspersons and elites in Seattle who owned a company by the name Seattle Professional Football Inc. conceived an idea to form a national football club for the city in the form of a franchise. In 1974, exactly two years later the franchise was expanded and later signed officially by Lloyd Nordstrom on behalf of the other stakeholders.
The franchise acquired its name, Seattle Seahawks, through a public naming competition, which attracted over two thousand participants generating more than a thousand names. The winning entry was chosen to be the operating and current name for the national football club. By this time, the club was fully operating and set to play its first game in the mid of the year 1976. Famous founders to wit Lloyd Nordstrom were however not lucky to witness this for they succumbed to illnesses before this. Lloyd can be named as the original owner of Seattle Seahawks since together with the Nordstrom family they had the biggest share in the franchise.
Management and Coaches
John Thompson was hired as the first general manager for the club in 1975. He in turn took Jack Petra, a former assistant coach for a Minnesota club to become the first head coach of the Seahawks. Albeit Petra did not have a big coaching background before, he raised the club to great heights and led it through some of their greatest victories in their history. Petra was removed after six-plus years as head coach and as replaced by Mike McCormack.
Later when the team lost continuously in several games in 1982, Mike McCormack, the then coach was replaced by Chuck Knox. This was occasioned by a strike by players as they sought the firing of the existing coach.
In 1992, Flores, the then manager for Seattle Seahawks was named as the new coach for the club. Having been the club manager for the previous three years, Flores seemed to know the right buttons to press and was behind a series of victories by the team. He was later replaced by Derrick Erickson, a very successful and renowned coach from Miami.
In 1999, Seahawks acquired the most memorable coach when they hired Mike Holmgren. He was to play a tough dual role of being both the head coach and the general manager. Currently Seattle Seahawks is managed by Pete Carol who is also the executive vice president and the head coach.
The team’s Achievements
Since the Seahawks entered the NFL as a franchise team in 1976, it had post a winning record by its third season. This was akin to the achievements it posted in 1979. This was a very remarkable start even though they have never won any champions league game.  The 1980s the team’s performance improved the more with several playoff appearances for the Seahawks.  The team advanced to the AFC championships for the first time in 1983. It claimed its first division title in 1988. 
Seattle has managed seven division title wins since they became a franchise. In the years 1988 and 1999, they won the AFC west titles respectively. It also walked away with the NFC West titles for four years consecutively, in 2004, 2005 2006 and 2007 then later captured the title again in the year 2010. In 2005, they won the NFC Championship game alongside many other victories in NFL play offs. This marked an interesting recognition for them for being the first team of losing record to appear in playoffs and to defeat the defending Super bowl champions in a post-season game.
In terms of personal achie...