Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren could be fined for remarks he made about officiating in the Super Bowl, ESPN reported Tuesday.

The Seahawks lost 21-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers amid several controversial calls in Super Bowl XL on Sunday.

When the Seahawks returned to Seattle on Monday, Holmgren told a gathering of fans at Quest Field that "We knew it was going to be tough going against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."

The NFL was unaware until Tuesday of the comments, ESPN reported. But a league official told ESPN that the NFL will "definitely look into" the incident.

The officiating rankled the Seahawks and their fans. On Monday, before departing Detroit, Holmgren noted that the penalties were "unfortunate," ESPN reported.

"Penalties, as much as anything, were the story of the game, and that's unfortunate," Holmgren said. "It might be the first time I've said that in my entire life."

A league official told ESPN that Holmgren's initial remarks were "fairly benign," but suggested the rhetoric was turned up a notch when the Seahawks coach returned to Seattle. "I'm guessing that part of it was Mike playing to the crowd a little, giving (the fans) what they wanted to hear, but I'm not sure that's an excuse for what he said. We'll definitely look into it."

Slide show   Super Steelers Check out best images from before, during and after Pittsburgh's 21-10 victory over Seattle in Super Bowl XL.

The official told ESPN that league management originally was unaware of the remarks because much of the NFL staff was on the road Monday, returning to New York after Super Bowl XL, or headed to Hawaii for Sunday's Pro Bowl game.