Well, there you have it, Seahawks fans: your 2008-09 scapegoat.

Tim Ruskell is gone. And Jim Mora is officially on the hot seat for 2010.

CEO Tod Leiweke told reporters that Mora will be back next year. But if Ruskell’s departure confirms one thing, it’s that Mora has to win or he’s most likely out.

Whether the new general manager is Mike Holmgren or someone else, Mora will have little leeway. Leiweke seemed to make that clear by stressing that the team had not won enough in the last two seasons and had to do much better than eight wins in 27 games.

Ruskell took the fall for that deteriorating record, and he certainly deserves blame for a few things: poor first-round draft picks, a few bad contracts and – most of all — letting the offensive line deteriorate so badly that it is the main reason the Seahawks are not a playoff contender.

Of course, Ruskell haters also can thank him for drafting Lofa Tatupu, Leroy Hill, Aaron Curry, John Carlson, Josh Wilson, Brandon Mebane and Justin Forsett, finding David Hawthorne, and keeping Tatupu, Hill and Marcus Trufant.

So while the Hawks have their weaknesses — the offensive line, pass rusher and safety — the cupboard is not totally bare.

But what’s next?

Leiweke said the team will conduct a self-audit to decide the best course.

“We’ll spend the next couple weeks anyway doing a pretty thorough evaluation of the good, the bad and the ugly,” he said. “And out of that, we’ll come away with an assessment of this football team, and then be in a much better position to identify what the characteristics are we’re looking for in a new leader.”

Leiweke indicated that he doesn’t think the franchise needs wholesale changes, and he said of the new general manager, “We’re not going to join them; they’re going to join us.”

“I don’t think this is a franchise that has to go out and beg someone to come here. I think this is a really strong and unique opportunity. So we’re going to find somebody who fits our prerequisite model of what we see as success going forward.”

Leiweke tried to quiet rumors of Holmgren’s imminent return by saying the team would go through a deliberate process.

“We’re going to do a thorough audit of this football team,” he said, “and we’re going to be very, very careful going forward to ensure that we find just the right person to lead the organization.”

But Leiweke’s final words sure seemed to leave open the door for Holmgren. Talking about interim GM Ruston Webster being a candidate for the full-time gig, the CEO said, “Stability is something that we’re trying to push for, so that’s true with scouts and all other parts of the organization.”

That seems to indicate that not too much will change beyond the man in charge of the football operation. And that would seem to favor Holmgren, who is already familiar with almost everyone within the franchise.

A lot of “star gazers” are stumping for a Holmgren/Jon Gruden pairing or guys like Parcells or Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan. That’s all a bunch of nonsensical whimsy. Other than possibly Holmgren, none of those guys are coming to Seattle.

And really it doesn’t matter who the GM is as long as he understands the No. 1 priority next offseason is completely rebuilding the offensive line, because the failure to do that is the main reason Ruskell is gone.