The Houston Texans shook up more of their behind-the-scenes operation Wednesday when they fired vice president of communications Amy Palcic.
For the average Houston sports fan, Palcic may have been recognizable as the lady who would accompany Deshaun Watson or J.J. Watt during postgame interviews. For many of the players, especially Watt, she was part of the fabric of Texans football at NRG Stadium.
“I think you can tell from the universal response from prominent people in the business, what type of person Amy is and how well respected and well liked she is, both inside our building and outside the building,” Watt said. “Extremely professional; just really good at her job, cared a lot, just wants what’s best for the team and what’s best for the organization.”
Palcic would normally help Watt out with his annual charity softball game, but the biggest assist she gave Watt was in 2017 in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. As Watt sought to raise money for the city of Houston and areas of South Texas affected by the hurricane, Palcic worked her connections to get in touch with GoFundMe directly to handle all of the donations that were pouring into the site, up to $37 million worth.
“Always trying to do what’s best, and was a massive helping hand with me during the hurricane, during my entire time here,” Watt said. “So, I think it’s a very difficult loss. She’s an incredible person and I think she’s going to have another job in an absolute heartbeat. I think it’s a big loss for us.”
Incidentally, the Texans are playing the Cleveland Browns Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at FirstEnergy Stadium. Before coming to the Texans in June 2013, one of Palcic’s prior jobs was with the Browns for 10 years, which also included the Romeo Crennel regime from 2005-08.