When former head coach Lovie Smith was fired from the Houston Texans after just one year of service like his predecessor David Culley, general manager Nick Caserio held himself personally responsible for the culture that had developed around the franchise.
“I think we’re all disappointed about where we are currently,” Caserio told reporters attending the press conference to announce Smith’s departure. “I don’t want to speak for anybody other than myself. I’m certainly disappointed in where we are. I take as much responsibility in where we are, and I’m accountable to everybody in this building. Quite frankly, I’m probably more disappointed in myself more than anybody, but I’m also excited about the opportunity we have in front of us.”
The final 13 words Caserio spoke in that sentence were hollow at the time to the fans and media members in attendance.
How could there be any optimistic outlook on a team that had won a combined seven games in the last two seasons on his watch? Should there be naive belief in a general manager who hired two coaches who had failed? Even if you look at the personnel choices made during the draft and free agency, by every metric, success was not an outlook many could see under Caserio’s leadership.
Yet, during all of the chaos and confusion surrounding the team, he had a plan in mind, and all he needed was another chance to prove that he could get the organization trending upward toward its goals of being a good NFL franchise. Many believed that this would be the last opportunity to get it right before the franchise moved towards replacing him. Caserio doesn’t get rattled very quickly, and that may be a character trait he picked up during his tenure with the New England Patriots and from head coach and general manager Bill Belichick.
“Outstanding,” said Caserio when asked about the job Ryans has done so far this season. “Any superlative that you have, I mean, applies to him. I said it earlier: as great of a coach as he is, he’s an even better person and a human being.” #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/IpOeuDMoNz
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) October 18, 2023
One of his first moves was hiring former Houston Texans linebacker and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, one of the hottest names in the head coaching searches this past off-season. Caserio pitched his vision for the team to Ryans, and he was all in for helping the organization that took a chance by drafting him out of the University of Alabama.
“Outstanding,” said Caserio when asked on Tuesday about the job Ryans has done so far this season. “Any superlative that you have, I mean, applies to him. I said it earlier: as great of a coach as he is, he’s an even better person and a human being. I think his consistency his sincerity on a day-to-day basis are real. His energy is real. He probably wishes he could still play. But that, I would say, emotion, that juice, that permeates the building, and the players feel that, and it’s real.”
With Ryans on board, Caserio knew that the next most significant task was ensuring they drafted the right quarterback to lead the franchise with the second overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Six games into the season, he is a genius by drafting former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Caserio, 47, was not done selecting cornerstone pieces for the Texans during the draft. He gave up a lot of future picks to the Arizona Cardinals for the right to select one of the best edge rushers in college football last season in Will Anderson out of Alabama.
“Their work ethic supersedes pretty much anybody on the team, especially at that position,” said Texans GM Nick Caserio when I asked him about the similarities in work ethic between Tom Brady and C.J. Stroud. #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/0DApOg3k8s
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) October 18, 2023
The additions of rookies Tank Dell, Henry To’o To’o, Dylan Horton, and Jarrett Patterson, all of whom have contributed this season, have helped Houston match their win total (3) from last season as they head into the bye week with a 3-3 record. Caserio was not only successful in this year’s draft, but he hit home runs for the team in the free agency market by signing key contributors on both sides of the ball, such as wide receiver Robert Woods, tight end Dalton Shultz, defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins and safety Jimmie Ward.
Still, with the early success that the team has had, he refuses to take the credit for what is being built at NRG Stadium.
“There’s a lot of people that deserve a lot of credit,” said Casserio. “I’d start with the coaches and what they’ve done, and the players is ultimately, we try to bring in the players that have the right mindset, they have the right qualities that we think can help our football team others. But I think DeMeco and the coaching staff deserve a tremendous amount of credit for what we’ve done and where we are. I think there’s a lot of other people that certainly deserve credit for the performance of the players and what they’ve done to this point.”
As a forward thinker who prides himself on always seeing what is in front of him instead of what was left behind, Caserio acknowledges that the past helps dictate the future but doesn’t believe that dwelling on it is productive.
“Last year doesn’t really matter,” he answered when asked about the improvement of this year’s team. “What’s happened in the past doesn’t really matter. I think the players that have come in here, some weren’t even here. It doesn’t really matter what happened last year.
“That’s for you guys [Media] to go back and research and spend time on. We’re focused on the future, focused on the present, focused on moving forward, focused on this football team and what we can do to make ourselves better this week.”
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