Category: Front Office

Nick Caserio says new job title changes nothing with Texans

Nick Caserio says his new title as Houston Texans general manager and executive vice president changes nothing as to his approach and accountability.

One of the more comical happenings of the offseason was an esoteric belief that Nick Caserio would be fired after the 2023 NFL draft.

Former NFL personnel boss-turned-insider Michael Lombardi muttered on a podcast that he was hearing there would be organizational reshuffling for the Houston Texans after the 2023 NFL draft. How that got interpreted as “the Texans will fire Caserio” is anyone’s guess.

Lombardi was right and the fanatics were wrong as the Texans gave Caserio an additional job title: executive vice president.

Caserio, who still is the team’s general manager, met with reporters for the first time since his “promotion,” and indicated at Houston Methodist Training Center that nothing changes for him despite the additional role.

“I’ve kind of always taken the approach whatever we need to do to help the organization to move it forward, whatever I’m asked to do, how big or small that job is,” Caserio said. “We have a lot of great people around me. We have a lot of great people in this building. Nothing has really substantively changed for me. Try to come in with the right attitude, the right mindset, work hard every day, do what we feel is best for the organization on a day-to-day basis. Appreciate the opportunity ownership has provided to myself, DeMeco [Ryans] and the rest of our staff. Nothing has really changed on this end.”

The fascinating aspect of Caserio taking on the executive vice president tag is that is the same title former football operations director Jack Easterby had from Jan. 2020 to Oct. 2022 when he left the team. Nevertheless Texans fans feel better about the team’s fortunes with Caserio possessing such a title rather than Easterby.

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Texans GM Nick Caserio expects RT Tytus Howard extension to be competed on day 1 of training camp

Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio stated in his training camp presser he expects the extension for RT Tytus Howard to be done at the end of day 1.

The Houston Texans are aware of what Tytus Howard means to the offensive line.

According to general manager Nick Caserio, the Texans have been working on a contract extension with their former 2019 first-round right tackle and are zeroing in on an extension.

Caserio told reporters during his opening presser on the first day of training camp that he expects the deal with Howard to be finalized by the end of the day.

The Texans have been generous when it comes to rewarding exemplary offensive line talent, as they reworked three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil’s contract in the offseason as he entered the final year of his deal.

Howard started all 17 games for the Texans last year. The Alabama State product has also displayed position flex throughout his Texans tenure, notably in 2021 where he was a predominantly a left guard.

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Lions promote Brian Hudspeth to Director of College Scouting

Hudspeth was Detroit’s assistant director of collegiate scouting in 2022

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The Detroit Lions have filled a front office vacancy from within the organization. Per Aaron Wilson, the Lions have promoted Brian Hudspeth to the director of collegiate scouting position.

Hudspeth has been the Lions’ assistant director of collegiate scouting for the last year. He first joined Detroit in 2018 as a national scout. Hudspeth started his NFL scouting career with the Atlanta Falcons back in 2001. He’s also had scouting tenures with the Texans and Buccaneers.

He fills the hole left behind by Dave Sears, who left after the season to join the Arizona Cardinals as that team’s assistant GM.

Brad Holmes on Jack Campbell: ‘Elite in every category’ the Lions look for in a linebacker

Detroit GM Brad Holmes said via Sirius XM NFL Radio that first-rounder Jack Campbell is “elite in every category” the Lions look for in a LB

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Lions general manager Brad Holmes is very excited about his team’s draft haul in 2023. Holmes was almost giddy when talking about linebacker Jack Campbell, who joined the Lions as the No. 18 overall pick out of Iowa.

In a recent interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio’s “Moving the Chains” program, Holmes was palpably excited when hosts Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller asked him about the team’s draft philosophy.

“We’re trying to get football players,” Holmes told the hosts. “If you start just sticking to height, weight, speed and all this stuff and what position they play, no — who is the best football player?”

Holmes said this in the context of being asked about Campbell. The GM indicated he was surprised by how big Campbell was in person after just watching him on tape.

“I didn’t know how truly big he was when I started looking at him on film in the fall,” Holmes admitted. “You see a big guy that can stack and shed, and you find out, ‘Oh he’s big; he’s a tackle-to-tackle guy’. Okay, I’ve seen these guys before. But the more you look at (Campbell) in coverage and third-down stuff, and you see that he’s the highest-rated coverage linebacker.

Then you look at the athleticism and it’s like, okay, alright. I’m trying to search for the deficiencies of where he can’t get from A to B, and the range, and the spot-drop (in coverage), the change of direction and the quickness. That’s when it really became evident that, whoa, this guy is a complete guy.”

Holmes wasn’t done waxing poetic about his new, versatile linebacker.

“His football intelligence and his passion for the game — it is as good as it gets. It’s elite in every category.”

Holmes brought up the concept of Campbell being a “green dot” player early in his career, someone smart enough to be the defensive play-caller and leader on the field.

The glowing praise helps explain why the Lions broke from their established character and valued the off-ball linebacker spot so highly. They strongly feel Campbell is worthy of the exception.

Report: Texans promote Tom Hayden to director of scouting operations

The Houston Texans have promoted Tom Hayden to be their director of scouting operations.

The Houston Texans are adjusting their personnel and scouting department.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans promoted Tom Hayden, their college scouting coordinator, to be their director of scouting operations.

General manager Nick Caserio mentioned on Feb. 28 at the NFL combine in Indianapolis that Hayden was part of a group of scouts that had “done a lot of the heavy lifting” to get the organization prepared to evaluate and collect information at the week-long event in early March.

The former University of Pennsylvania fullback joined the Texans in 2018 to replace ex-college scouting coordinator Matt Jansen. Hayden worked with general manager Brian Gaine and coach Bill O’Brien to produce the 2019 draft class.

Prior to working for the Texans, Hayden had an internship with Morgan Stanley and was also a scouting assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Lions GM Brad Holmes: ‘We don’t draft scared’

Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes says, “we don’t draft scared” and it’s a fitting mantra

In his post-draft press conference, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes dished out a lot of information. He explained the team’s take on several of the prospects they selected and delved into some of the moves the Lions made.

One particular quip stood out from Holmes. It aptly summed up the entire weekend of the Detroit Lions draft.

“We don’t draft scared,” Holmes deadpanned. “We don’t play scared.”

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He said it in the context of being prepared for anything to happen, notably selecting Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12 overall after losing Jamaal Williams in free agency.

“We don’t draft scared” makes for an excellent t-shirt slogan. It’s a fitting mantra for Holmes, who has shown he doesn’t care what folks outside the building care think. Nor should he.

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Nick Caserio says collaboration at the heart of Texans’ draft process

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says that collaboration is central to the organization’s decision-making during the NFL draft.

DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio talk all the time.

However, it isn’t simply the new coach and third-year general manager who will be running the entire draft for the Houston Texans starting April 27. The three-day event represents a culmination of all of the data and insight the personnel and scouting departments were able to retrieve and mine about the 2023 draft class.

Caserio joined “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] on April 20 to talk about the collaboration that goes into producing a draft class.

“What we’ve done essentially over the course of the spring is we’ve accumulated a lot of information during the fall and in the all-star game process and relied on our scouts for us to to get through the amount of heavy lifting,” Caserio said. “So, they’ve kind of compiled everything. They have their evaluation. We rely on everybody’s evaluation, their information. Then we involve the coaching staff, get their evaluation of the player, how they see the player.”

Although Caserio proverbially turns in the draft card to the league, the decision is not his alone to make; there is a degree of democracy involved.

Said Caserio: “So, what we have to do is take a lot of information, distill it down, and then really the people are involved in the decision-making have, I would say, pretty constant dialogue and discussion. Because in the end it’s a collective decision. It’s not one individual decision. One person is not making a decision. We want to make sure that we’re comfortable with whatever decision we make for the entire organization, and everybody is going to have their perspective.”

When disagreements occur on a player, the key is to present the argument as such where constructive dialogue can help arrive at a beneficial compromise.

“We’ll talk, we’ll regroup, we’ll get everybody’s input,” Caserio said. “How do they factor into the kicking game? What is their role on defense? What’s their role on offense? How do you see the player? I’d say maybe this group sees a player this way. We see him maybe a little bit differently. But in the end we want to arrive at the end point that we all feel comfortable with. And whenever we make the decision, we’re all on-board and we’re all supportive of what we’re trying to do because we want the player to succeed, because if the player succeeds, the team is going to succeed. And the team is going to succeed — if the team succeeds, then that’s better for everybody involved.”

The Texans have 12 picks in the draft and have the most capital of any team.

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Nick Caserio says Texans are willing to trade with other AFC South teams

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says the team is willing to trade with their fellow AFC South rivals in the 2023 NFL draft.

Maybe the Indianapolis Colts could get the quarterback they want in the 2023 NFL draft.

General manager Nick Caserio told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] April 20 that Houston Texans have no philosophy against trading with other teams in the AFC South.

“We’ll trade with anybody,” Caserio said. “Just philosophically, if it’s the best thing, if it matches up, and you feel comfortable making the trade, then we’ll go ahead and do it.”

Caserio even referenced how good business sense overcame a sense of rivalry even when he was the New England Patriots’ director of player personnel from 2008-20 after having served in a variety of roles since 2001.

“We made some trades in our division even going back when I was in New England,” said Caserio. “So, if you start to take that philosophy, again, it’s a little bit narrow minded, so, again, ultimately, if it’s the best thing for your team, then you’ll deal with whatever comes along with it. So, you can’t eliminate anything, and I would say we’re pretty open-minded organizationally. I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but I’d say we’re definitely open-minded, we’ll always listen. We’re not going to eliminate anything.”

The Colts are quarterback-needy and picking No. 4 overall. So are the Las Vegas Raiders (No. 7 overall) and even the Tennessee Titans (No. 11 overall). All these teams would have to do to move ahead of the Colts would be to work out a deal with the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 overall.

Of course, such a trade with Houston and the Colts would only work if the Texans didn’t want a quarterback at No. 2 and were confident the Cardinals weren’t going to take either Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson or Alabama defensive end Will Anderson with their own selection.

Said Caserio: “I think that’s sometimes a narrative that gets painted in whether it’s dealing with teams, dealing with different people, ‘well, they wouldn’t do that because.’ Well, not necessarily, so, when you’re in this league long enough, you’re ultimately going to deal with people all across the way and if it doesn’t work out the way you hoped initially, you’re going to have an interaction with somebody else. So, there’s no ill will. It’s all about business and it’s all about making good decisions.”

In the Caserio era, the closest the Texans have come to working with a divisional foe was in 2021 when Houston traded their 2021 fifth- and seventh-round selections to the Los Angeles Rams for No. 170 overall in Round 6, which at one time was possessed by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Texans GM Nick Caserio expects unpredictable Round 1 of 2023 NFL draft

Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio says that he expects for the first round of the 2023 NFL draft to be more unpredictable than people think.

Nick Caserio takes his draft information with a grain of salt.

The Houston Texans general manager joined “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] April 20 to talk about the state of the franchise heading into the 2023 NFL draft.

With a variety of draft rumors swirling about, Caserio explained how he processes the data.

“Some of this is grain of salt and you have to take it,” said Caserio. “Some may get more information than others. The reality is the people that have the information are getting the information from somebody. So, then you’re trying to reverse engineer why are they doing that. So, if you spend too much time doing that, you’ll spin yourself in circles. So, I would say trust the people you think have some semblance of an idea, and then the rest of it is a bunch of noise.”

Football fans can take it with their own grains of salt, but Caserio believes Round 1 won’t exactly go the way experts expect on April 27 in Kansas City.

Said Caserio: “I’ll say let’s see what happens this year, but I think this first round has the potential to be a little bit more unpredictable than people think. So, it’s really not about, okay, what a mock draft says or what somebody thinks, what matters in the end is what the team thinks, what they think is the best thing for their player, does that player fit what they want to do. It doesn’t matter where he was projected to go or what happened.”

The Texans have twin first-round selections at Nos. 2 and 12 overall. No doubt Houston will have some influence on how unpredictable Round 1 will be, especially since they may not be in the running for a quarterback with their highest selection.

“Ultimately, the team has to do what they think is in their best interest and not rely on some information on the periphery that may or may not matter,” Caserio said.

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Brad Holmes keeps the door open to taking a 1st-round running back

Holmes referenced when the Rams took Todd Gurley at No. 10 in 2015 and how well that played out for Holmes’ old team

Most analytical studies will state that an NFL team taking a running back in the first round is a colossal misallocation of resources. The return on investment relative to other positions makes it almost taboo in the modern NFL.

No RBs were picked in the first round in 2022. None have been selected higher than 24th overall since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 back in 2018.

Would the Detroit Lions break the mold in next week’s 2023 NFL draft? That was one of the questions posed to Lions GM Brad Holmes in his pre-draft press conference on Thursday.

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Holmes was asked if the Lions would consider electing a running back in the first round if he felt the talent merits it. While it wasn’t stated explicitly, the clear implication was about Texas RB Bijan Robinson, widely rated as the top running back prospect in several years.

The third-year GM answered by relating back to his years as the director of collegiate scouting for the Los Angeles Rams.

“I kind of just look at it as they’re all football players,” Holmes told reporters. “If they can help you, they can help you. I understand the narrative of that, but if you think that player is that good, if he’s out there producing for you, I don’t think anyone’s going to look back and say —I don’t think anyone said in 2016 or ’17 or ’18, ‘Man, they picked Todd Gurley at 10.’ No, he was just a really good running back. He was one of the top prospects in the draft. So, yeah. We didn’t really bat an eye.”

Gurley was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, the first RB to come off the board. He was the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year in 2015. Gurley followed that up by being named a first-team All-Pro in 2017 and 2018, leading the league in rushing TDs in both seasons. Knee injuries effectively ruined him thereafter, but for the first four seasons of his rookie contract, Gurley was arguably the best RB in football. Those 2017-2018 Rams made the postseason both years, advancing to the Super Bowl in the latter.

We’ll find out in a week if Holmes pulls the trigger on selecting Robinson with one of Detroit’s two first-round picks.

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