Tag: front office

Jamey Rootes says it was an ‘honor to serve’ the Texans, McNair family

Outgoing Houston Texans team president Jamey Rootes expressed his gratitude for being able to work for the team and the McNair family.

Houston Texans president Jamey Rootes will be leaving the organization in the coming weeks, and the team’s top executive, who has been with the team since 2000, publicly expressed his gratitude to the franchise and the McNair family.

In a statement from the outgoing president, Rootes mentioned how much of a blessing it was to work for the McNairs.

“It has been an honor to serve them in this capacity for as long as I have,” Rootes said. “I want to thank my teammates as we could not have had so many successes without their hard work and dedication to the team.”

Rootes also thanked Texans fans for being, “best fans in the National Football League.”

Said Rootes: “Your passionate support created a tremendous homefield advantage, established the best tailgating experience in the NFL and sold out every home game. I will always be a proud Texan and I look forward to continuing to support our team.”

Rootes will be pursuing his interests as a writer, public speaker, consultant, and professor at the University of Houston.

“We sincerely appreciate Jamey’s multiple contributions to the Texans franchise over his tenure and look forward to seeing him succeed in his new ventures,” Texan chairman and CEO Cal McNair said.

According to co-founder and senior chair Janice McNair, late founder Bob McNair was impressed with Rootes from the outset.

“When Bob first met Jamey, he knew immediately Jamey would be the one to help us build this franchise from the ground up,” said McNair. “I am so thankful for Jamey, Melissa and the entire Rootes family for their constant dedication to the team since its inception. He’s had a great influence on this organization and we wish him continued success in the future. We respect Jamey’s decision to pursue other opportunities.”

Rootes wrote about his approach to leading a business to sustained success in “The Winning Game Plan,” which was released in late 2020 and became a best-seller on Amazon, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

Report: Texans ‘weeding out’ employees not hired by Jack Easterby, Nick Caserio

The Houston Texans are getting rid of employees who weren’t hired by GM Nick Caserio or football ops boss Jack Easterby, according to ESPN.

The Houston Texans are making changes, not just to their coaching staff, but to their other aspects of the football operation.

Hidden inside Adam Schefter’s report on the Texans’ insistence to other teams that they will not trade quarterback Deshaun Watson was a paragraph regarding the dismissal of employees.

One player privately commented to ESPN that the Texans are weeding out employees who were not hired by executive vice president Jack Easterby and new general manager Nick Caserio, replacing them with employees who will be indebted to them for their work.

The Texans have gotten rid of director of football administration Kevin Krajcovic, equipment manager Mike Parson, and Doug West — at least, these are employees whose dismissals have been leaked to the public.

If the Caserio-Easterby regime is assembling a column of individuals loyal to them, it could make the Watson situation worse given the lack of communication between the three-time Pro Bowler and his new general manager and his new coach, David Culley.

Report: Detroit Lions expected to hire John Dorsey as a senior personnel executive

NFL Network’s Tom Peliserro is reporting that the Detroit Lions are expected to hire John Dorsey as a senior personnel executive.

Initially reported by NFL Network’s Tom Peliserro, and confirmed by several other local reporters, the Detroit Lions are expected to hire John Dorsey as a senior personnel executive.

The deal is still not finalized but it is expected to happen and be announced mid-week.

Dorsey, like most of the recent hires by the Lions organization, is a former NFL player — he played linebacker for the Green Bay Packers for five seasons in the mid-to-late eighties.

Not long after retirement, Dorsey began scouting for the Packers in 1991, and by 1997 he was named their director of pro scouting. He followed coach Mike Holmgren to Seattle to be their director of player personnel for a year but quickly returned back to Green Bay in his old role. He would work his way up to director of football operations by 2012, then other teams came calling.

The Kansas City Chiefs was first to hire him as their general manager, where he stayed for four years, then he moved on to the Cleveland Browns, who made him their GM for two years before he was fired again.

Last season, per The Athletic’s Zach Berman, Dorsey was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as a consultant on college/pro scouting.

During his stints as director of pro scouting and general manager, Dorsey is credited with identifying or drafting a healthy list of talented players. While in Green Bay, Dorsey was the person who pushed for Aaron Rodgers, in Kansas City he traded up and drafted Patrick Mahomes, and in Cleveland, he selected Baker Mayfield — all playoff quarterbacks in 2020.

With the Lions likely targeting a quarterback in this year’s NFL draft, Dorsey’s hit rate makes him a phenomenal person to have in the evaluation room.

Others Dorsey drafted in Kansas City and Cleveland include Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt (drafted while with Chiefs and signed while with Browns), Nick Chubb, Marcus Peters, Denzel Ward, and local offensive tackle Eric Fischer.

But it’s not just scouting/drafting that has gotten Dorsey praise. While in Cleveland he acquired Jarvis Landry via trade with Miami for fourth and seventh-round picks, then talked the Giants into giving him Odell Beckham Jr. for first and third-round picks, along with former Michigan Wolverine Jabrill Peppers.

With the Lions needing to deal Matthew Stafford, Dorsey’s experience working trades will surely help the Lions get the “fair market value” they are looking for in a return.

While Dorsey has a glowing resume of acquiring players, there are several reasons he is not currently a GM in the NFL.

When evaluating GM candidates for the Lions, Dorsey was purposely left off our list of recommended candidates because of his controversial nature. As Jeff Risdon pointed out, we believed the Lions should pass on Dorsey for the GM job:

His playing favorites alienated several players and stunted progress of players who weren’t “his guys”. He also liked the idea of having contrasting voices on his coaching staff instead of a harmonious unit. Anyone who watched even 15 minutes of Hard Knocks in the summer of 2018 got a taste of that discord between head coach Hue Jackson and his coordinators, Todd Haley and Gregg Williams. Dorsey did that on purpose, thinking it would give his team an edge.

That was a carryover from his Kansas City experience, too. Dorsey has a confrontational nature to him when stressed, and he doesn’t react well to those who don’t fall in lockstep. It’s what led to his departure from the Chiefs.

Fortunately, in Detorit, Dorsey doesn’t appear to be involved in any coaching/front office personnel decisions and will be used as an experienced sounding board for general manager Brad Holmes.

As long as Dorsey’s role is clearly defined, he can be a valuable asset for the Lions. In fact, at the end of the article, Risdon noted that:

“I’d love to see Dorsey come to Detroit as the Director of Football Operations to assist a rookie GM, if the 60-year-old former Packers linebacker is willing. He does have an eye for premium talent and experience running an organization.”

Texans DE Charles Omenihu says Jack Easterby has been good to him

Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu says that executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby has been good to him.

Charles Omenihu has no problems with Jack Easterby.

The former 2019 fifth-round defensive end from Texas took time to answer questions Monday while helping distribute 1,000 meals to residents in Houston’s Third Ward at Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church.

“All of the decisions are really not up to me,” Omenihu said of the executive president of football operations. “So, my opinion really doesn’t change anything. All I know is Jack has been good to me. Jack has always been somebody that talked to me on the side and continue to give me a lot of support in my time with the Houston Texans. I can’t thank him enough for that. So, anything else beyond that is really I wouldn’t know and out of my control.”

Omenihu has known nothing but Easterby’s presence in the organization, first coming in as an executive vice president of team development in April of 2019. The 6-5, 280-pound defensive end was selected at the end of that month’s draft.

Detroit Lions are restructuring their front office, starting at the top

The Detroit Lions are not only hiring a new general manager and head coach, but they’re restructuring their front office, and starting at the top.

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The Detroit Lions are not only hiring a new general manager (Brad Holmes) and head coach (presumably Dan Campbell), but they’re restructuring their front office, and it’s starting at the top.

Under previous general manager Bob Quinn’s tenure with the Lions, he was not only the GM but also the team’s Director of Football Operations. After Quinn was fired, our Jeff Risdon wrote about how those two positions should be separate and the Lions would be best-served separating the roles between two individuals.

“Handling both jobs was too big for Quinn,” Risdon said. “It’s a mistake the Lions can’t make once again. They need to hire a separate director of football operations from the new GM.”

Well, Risdon is getting his wish.

On Monday, Sports Illustrated’s MMQB author Albert Breer wrote about why the Lions hiring of Holmes was “right along the lines of what they were looking for” and expanded on how the organization’s front office is changing to help him be successful.

The Lions were looking for a GM with a scouting background and Holmes’ 16 years of experience in this area — the last eight as the Rams director of college scouting — fit the bill to a tee.

“Detroit liked hearing from Holmes about how the Rams do things differently,” Breer wrote, “mixing analytics and an intellectual way of looking at players with traditional scouting, while seeing that he’d change some things too.”

One of the changes the Lions wanted to put in place was to allow Holmes to stay focused on what he is good at — scouting.

“In order to get the GM job (Holmes) closer to a true scouting job, the Lions are putting VP Mike Disner in charge of much of the football-operations end of things, which means Holmes won’t have to worry about managing areas like travel, nutrition, training and equipment.”

Disner, a Bloomfield Hills native, has 12 years of NFL front office experience and is considered one of the “rising stars” who is “shaping the direction of the NFL”. He was hired by the Lions in 2018, after six years as the Cardinals capologist, and was tasked with heading up the player contract negotiations and handling the Lions salary cap. He was also a member of the Lions search team that helped identify Holmes and Campbell.

Per Breer’s report, “Disner, Holmes and the new coach (presumably, Saints assistant Dan Campbell) will all report to Lions president Rod Wood”. Keep in mind, this is also an area where Chris Spielman, who was hired as a “Special Assistant to Chairman and President & CEO”, can best make an impact on the organization — giving Wood a sounding board and advising him on the football side of the organization.

At his end of season press conference, Wood said: “What we’re looking for is people that can work together and be partners, and not one working for the other necessarily”.

Based on the way this new organizational structure is progressing, they’re doing exactly that.

Is Texans president Jamey Rootes about to leave the franchise?

There are reports that team president Jamey Rootes won’t be returning to the Houston Texans for his 21st season.

The Houston Texans could be on the verge of another shakeup in their front office.

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, there is speculation that team president Jamey Rootes will not be back for his 21st season with the franchise.

Rootes has been the team’s only president since the 2002 season, and has been a key part in helping the Texans consistently rank as one of the top-10 most valuable NFL franchises.

The speculation on McClain’s part is corroborated by a recent Sports Illustrated report from Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop.

In the season’s final weeks, [Jack] Easterby’s relationships with the business side of the Texans’ operations also frayed. One person was surprised to see him sidling up to Rootes, the team president, at one of the later home games, despite a relationship that many of the same sources considered frosty. “There’s something going on with Jack and Jamey,” the person who saw them told a coworker. After the season, multiple sources heard that Rootes was considering resigning. That he did not, those same sources said, spoke to his desire to fight for an organization he had helped lead for two decades. (Rootes did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)

If there is any change with the Texans, or there is any negative outcome to be had, scrutiny immediately falls upon Easterby, the executive vice president of football operations. If Rootes leaves the Texans, Houston sports fans will be wondering if he is another casualty in one of Easterby’s power plays inside the organization.

Independent of Easterby, the departure of Rootes would be another significant shakeup to an organization that has undergone significant front office and coaching changes since founder Bob McNair’s death in November of 2018, and it will be another challenge chairman and CEO Cal McNair will have to expertly handle to set the Texans up for success in the 2020s.

Panthers offer Seahawks Scott Fitterer the general manager position

The Carolina Panthers are expected to hire Seattle Seahawks VP of football operations, Scott Fitterer, for the open general manager position.

The Seattle Seahawks could be losing one member of their front office to a new opportunity in the very near future. The Carolina Panthers have offered Seahawks’ Vice President of Football Operations, Scott Fitterer, the general manager position and he is expected to accept.

Fitterer, a long-time member of Seattle’s staff, conducted Zoom interviews with Carolina this week. The Panthers are moving quickly to make things official.

“The #Panthers are expected to hire VP of Football Operations Scott Fitterer as their new GM, sources tell me and @TomPelissero,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted Thursday afternoon. “A late addition to their interview process, he made a quick impression on the Carolina search team.”

The team has already announced the offer on their website.

Fitterer had interviewed for general manager positions with other teams over the last few seasons but his virtual meeting with the Panthers was his only interview of this year. Carolina had interviewed 15 candidates for the open GM position before offering Fitterer the job.

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Andre Johnson says ‘nothing good has happened’ since Texans hired Jack Easterby

Houston Texans Ring of Honor member Andre Johnson says that nothing good has been wrought from hiring Jack Easterby.

Andre Johnson does not like the state of affairs with the Houston Texans.

The former 2003 first-round pick and inaugural Texans Ring of Honor member spat fire about the organization on Twitter. Johnson covered a range of issues from advising quarterback Deshaun Watson to stand his ground to expostulating about executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby.

“If I’m @deshaunwatson I will stand my ground,” Johnson tweeted Tuesday. “The Texans organization is known for wasting players careers. Since Jack Easterby has walk into the building nothing good has happened in/for the organization and for some reason someone can’t seem to see what’s going on. Pathetic!!!”

Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair indicated that, although Easterby, who served as interim general manager following the firing of Bill O’Brien on Oct. 5, 2020, would revert back to football operations following his stint as interim general manager, they were still working on what Easterby’s job would be going forward.

“Jack is very gifted in a lot of different areas, and those areas would be things that [general manager] Nick (Caserio) will need as he moves into his role as GM,” McNair told reporters on Jan. 8 at Caserio’s introductory press conference. “It won’t be roster. It won’t be free agency. Like I said before, those are the GM jobs that Nick is doing, and he will look to Jack to do some of these other things that Jack has done really well in the past.”

Johnson was a member of the Texans organization until August of 2020. The three-time All-Pro was a special adviser to the general manager, coach, and scouting department in 2019. Johnson still remains with the Texans as a team ambassador, appearing at various community outreach events. If anyone has any insight into the Texans’ inner workings, it would be Johnson.

Easterby was initially hired as executive vice president of team development in April of 2019.

Panthers to interview Seahawks’ Scott Fitterer for general manager job

The Carolina Panthers will be interviewing Seattle Seahawks’ VP of Football Operations Scott Fitterer for their vacant general manager job.

Now that the 2020 NFL regular season has wrapped up, many teams across the league are looking to fill vacant personnel positions.

The Carolina Panthers, who finished the year with an unimpressive 5-11 record, are on the hunt for a new general manager and are looking across the country to the Emerald City.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting Carolina will interview a member of Seattle’s front office.

“The #Panthers are set to interview #Seahawks VP of Football Operations Scott Fitterer for their vacant GM job today, source said,” Rapoport tweeted Monday morning. “The interview will happen over zoom.”

This won’t be the first time a team has come calling on Fitterer, who has had interviews with the Colts and the Jets in the past.

Stay tuned as this story continues to develop.

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Texans interview Steelers front office executive Omar Khan for general manager

The Houston Texans have interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan for the general manager job.

The Houston Texans continue their due diligence in finding their fifth general manager in franchise history.

The team announced Monday evening they have completed an interview with Omar Khan, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ vice president of football and business administration.

Khan has been a member of the Steelers organization since 2001 when he took the job as football administration coordinator. In 2011, he was promoted to director of football administration. In 2016, Khan took over in his current capacity.

Prior to joining the Steelers, Khan was with the New Orleans Saints from 1997-2001 he worked in the football operations department with Mickey Loomis as director of football administration from 2000-01.

The success Khan has been around with the Steelers is hard to argue with: two Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl appearances, six AFC Championship Game appearances, 10 AFC North titles, and 13 playoff appearances. If the Texans can capture just a portion of that success, one good run with Deshaun Watson at quarterback, it would be worth putting Khan in as general manager.

Khan is from New Orleans having graduated from Archbishop Rummel High School in nearby Metarie, Louisiana. He also graduated from Tulane with a degree in sports management.