Tag: Jack Easterby

Texans’ Cal McNair embraces chairman and CEO role with firing of Jack Easterby

According to @johnhcrumpler, Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair has embraced being more of a leader by firing Jack Easterby.

It’s been a tumultuous first three seasons for Cal McNair as CEO & Chairman of the Houston Texans.

Since his father, Bob McNair, died in November of 2018, Cal oversaw the Texans epic playoff collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs and the subsequent dismantling of the franchise under Bill O’Brien. Deandre Hopkins was traded, JJ Watt was released, and the relationship with franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson became so toxic that he was ultimately traded to the Cleveland Brown.

McNair, to his credit, has done his best to move on from the corpse of the awful 2020 season. Watson was traded as swiftly as possible and featured in no promotional material during 2021 or 2022. Nick Caserio, very well respected from his tenure in New England, was brought in to serve as General Manager. The team cycled through Baltimore Ravens’ wide receiver coach David Culley before opting instead to elevate Lovie Smith to the position.

On the frontlines, despite two consecutive 4-win seasons, McNair has done his best to win back the love of the fanbase and fight declining season ticket sales. The team created alternate uniforms for the first time in franchise history, preached a message of needing their fan support to win, and McNair himself even went as far as to grill burgers for fans after practice one day.

Despite everything, McNair’s entire tenure had one thing in common: Jack Easterby.

The executive vice president of football operations survived an Sports’ Illustrated hit piece that hinted at immense involvement in the football operations and seemingly played a huge hand in the hiring of Caserio. Easterby’s hand was also evident in the head coaching searches of both 2021 and 2022. His relationship and shared faith with former quarterback Josh McCown, a backup for Houston in 2020, was so strong that McCown was reported as a potential favorite for the job despite no coaching experience at either the NFL or college level.

Easterby may have been brought on at the desire of Bill O’Brien but even in the face of the team’s complete and total attempt to erase that era of team history… his job was seemingly unstable.

McNair finally shut down that narrative on Monday.

Easterby was relieved of all responsibilities with the Houston Texans in a move that the team published as ‘mutual.’ Many in the local media, including long time Houston Chronicle reporter John McClain, were quick to note that the parting was likely anything but that.

Even if the decision came two years too late, the move signals a new era for Houston and most importantly a new era for McNair as CEO of the Texans.

The firing not only removes a toxic presence and reminder of the Texans’ past from the building, but it also puts the impetus on McNair. It’s a sign of strength and independence of his young tenure as CEO that McNair is ready to absorb both the full responsibilities and independence that come with serving as the functional owner of the team. These are officially Cal McNair’s Texans in both word and deed.

There’s been no lack of desire nor lack of effort to try to win during the last three seasons. The biggest obstacles have been correcting the mistakes of the past and selecting the right people to make the choices to come. Easterby’s removal is one that signals McNair’s value to both have ownership in that process and to also put football-people at the forefront of making football-decisions.

It will certainly take time for Caserio to rebuild the roster and Houston will need to find a franchise quarterback before they once again can have Super Bowl aspirations. However, for the time being, McNair has done everything possible in his corner to make Houston a winner.

Houston finally closes the Jack Easterby era

At long last, the #Texans have now closed the chapter on Jack Easterby.

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Early Monday morning, executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby was relieved of his duties by the Houston Texans. This news comes after a tumultuous four years with the organization that included a public spat with former franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson and a Sports Illustrated piece that questioned Easterby’s role in the club.

Easterby joined the Texans in 2019 after serving for many years as a character coach with the New England Patriots. After the firing of former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, Easterby was elevated to the title of vice president of football operations and had a clear hand in personnel decisions during his tenure. Infamously, he helped to negotiate the Watson extension with the no-trade clause that made the Cleveland trade so difficult this past spring for general manager Nick Caserio.

Some had speculated how long Easterby might last after signs of meddling, particularly in their interest with former quarterback Josh McCown, in the team and it would appear that CEO Cal McNair had finally had enough of his presence in the building. Many in the Houston media are reporting, beyond the previously documented conflict, that Easterby served as a large source of leaks to the media.

Many fans will be relieved that the team will now be able to move forward from the franchise’s darkest hour in full earnest. The move also further represents a commitment to advancing back to respectability that has been spearheaded by McNair. It’s now fully up to Caserio and head coach Lovie Smith to move on from Easterby’s large print on the team.

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Texans part ways with executive VP of football operations Jack Easterby

The Texans are parting ways with Jack Easterby after four seasons, according to Adam Schefter.

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The Houston Texans are parting ways with executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby after four years, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Easterby was hired as executive vice president of team development back in 2019, before being promoted to executive vice president of football operations in Jan. 2020.

Easterby was “a major voice” within the Texans organization, including during his short stint as interim general manager following Bill O’Brien’s firing in Oct. 2020. He was a big influence in the decision making within the organization, including the hirings of GM Nick Caserio and head coach Lovie Smith.

According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, a source hold him Easterby’s firing “wasn’t a surprising development.” After all, the Texans don’t have a lot in terms of talent on the roster and have had just one winning season since Easterby was hired back in 2019.

With Easterby’s departure, there are questions about the future of the franchise. But there are reasons for Houston to be an attractive destination amid a rebuild — they’re set to have the sixth-most salary cap space at $48 million in 2023 and additional draft capital after the Deshaun Watson trade.

Will Jack Easterby leave the Texans after the 2022 season?

The influence of EVP Jack Easterby has lessened throughout the GM Nick Caserio era. Will Easterby leave the Houston Texans after 2022?

Jack Easterby has had quite the ride with the Houston Texans since 2019.

The organization hired Easterby as executive vice president of team development on April 2, 2019. The club later promoted Easterby to executive vice president of football operations on Jan. 28, 2020. Even before Easterby had to be the club’s interim general manager after the firing of coach and general manager Bill O’Brien on Oct. 5, 2020, Easterby played a part in negotiating contracts in 2020.

With the hiring of former New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio as general manager on Jan. 7, 2020, Easterby’s influence throughout the Texans has waned.

According to John McClain, who has been as much a staple of the NFL scene in Houston as any franchise, Easterby could be through with the Texans after the 2022 campaign.

“I think Jack Easterby will be gone after this season,” McClain told “In The Loop” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] June 28. “That’s just my opinion.”

McClain’s opinion wasn’t merely a hunch as it was rooted in observations and conversations with individuals inside the organization.

Said McClain: “Based on some things that he did that they’re not doing anymore — roster with no numbers. And one of the things that he did last year that I just noticed is he scrubbed their website, made it like the Patriots, the worst in the league. And I had several people in that organization tell me how unhappy they were that they were no longer on the website. And they like to show their grandpa and their grandpa liked to show people, ‘Here’s my son or daughter.’ And it was like they were wiped from the face of the Earth. They now put it back. So, that comes under the auspices of president Greg Grissom. So, congratulations to Greg Grissom or whoever did that because there’s a lot of people that are happy now that what Easterby did last year is no longer. Now, I can’t wait to see if other things that happened, like in training camp and stuff, if they’ll get away from that as well.”

The decline of Easterby’s presence throughout the organization is identifiable. Even Easterby clarified his role as being more of a support role than anything related directly to football.

McClain reiterated it is simply his prediction that Easterby will be gone.

“He may get a contract extension,” said McClain. “I’m just saying I think he will be gone after this season. He will ‘resign to pursue other opportunities.'”

Easterby has been a lightning rod since the 2020 offseason. Caserio has found the scrutiny Easterby has been under curious.

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4 lessons the Houston Texans must learn after the Deshaun Watson trade

The Houston Texans underwent a traumatic experience trading away a franchise QB. Here are four lessons the organization better learn.

The Houston Texans finally traded Deshaun Watson. The saga is over.

Although the 14-month drama has wrapped up, it would be a colossal waste of time if the Texans didn’t learn from their missteps that led to their 2017 first-round pick — who they traded up to get — finishing out his NFL career in another city, only after signing his contract extension of course.

Aside from the sexual assault allegations from 22 women, the past 14 months were avoidable for the Texans, but their mistakes led to Watson leaving town. At least general manager Nick Caserio was able to land a decent trade haul to complete the rebuilding process.

Here are four lessons the Texans need to learn from the Watson ordeal.

Texans EVP Jack Easterby clarifies his role within the organization

Houston Texans executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby defined his role within the organization.

Houston Texans fans know what Jack Easterby’s title is: executive vice president of football operations.

Although the title seemingly defines that Easterby runs the football ops, there is some ambiguity as to what he exactly does. Houston fans may not hear from him during the week, but can catch glimpses of him on the sidelines of Texans games.

Easterby joined Jacob Erlbaum and Jacob Hare on the “Jacob and Jacob Podcast” and outlined what exactly his role is within the Texans organization.

“Obviously in an NFL organization there’s tons of different roles and things that are given,” Easterby said. “We’re organized in a very unique way. Nick Caserio, who is our general manager, does an awesome job with the roster and the football operation in relation to specific roster transactions, building our team, our personnel, and then our football performance on the field.”

Easterby was hired as the vice president of team development in April of 2019. After the firing of general manager Brian Gaine on June 7, 2019, and coach Bill O’Brien being named general manager in January 2020, Easterby similarly received a promotion to his current position. When O’Brien was fired on Oct. 5, 2020, Easterby was promoted to interim general manager, a role he vacated once the Texans hired Caserio as general manager at the end of the 2020 season.

With Easterby back in a football ops role, and not having to help out a coach doubling up as general manager, he can get back to serving the team.

“Then what I try to do is serve the rest of the building through what we call our SPT programs, which are our sports performance teams and the onboarding efforts of our team and then also the logistical components and the data and technology components that support the team,” said Easterby. “So, it’s a support role that really, hopefully drives the innovation and hopefully the efficiency of the operation to give the coaches and the players and the general manager what they need to do their job well.”

The Texans had one winning year so far since Easterby joined the team. Chairman and CEO Cal McNair and the rest of the organization is hopeful Easterby can take part in rebuilding the Texans and getting them back into playoff contention.

EVP Jack Easterby describes his game day role with the Texans

Houston Texans executive vice president Jack Easterby told the “Jacob and Jacob Podcast” ( @pod_jacob ) what exactly he does on game day.

Houston Texans fans see Jack Easterby on the sidelines at NRG Stadium during game days, and it has generated questions as to what an executive vice president of football operations is doing on the sidelines as opposed to inside the press box.

Easterby took time with “The Jacob and Jacob Podcast” hosted by Jacob Hare and Jacob Erlbaum to talk about what he does for the Texans on game days. Given Easterby’s background as a character coach, the question centered around whether he gave any pep talks.

“On game day, not too many pep talks, but I’m a high-five guy when you’re playing a game you only get to play once a week,” Easterby said. “So, I love high-fiving guys and celebrating with them. It’s obviously a passionate game, and, so, I love to be a part of whether it’s pregame or postgame trying to celebrate with guys when they’re doing well and executing their gifts and what their jobs are.”

Easterby clarified that his role on game day to provide a smooth operation.

Said Easterby: “I try to stay out of the way and make sure our operation is efficient, whether that’s sideline stuff or halftime stuff or just helping the overall operations. So, our goal really during game day is really to serve and make sure the operation runs as smooth as possible.”

Easterby described his role earlier in the interview as a support role to ensure that the sports performance teams, logistics, and data and technology elements support the Texans.

The Texans hired Easterby in April 2019 as the vice president of team development. In Jan. 2020, he was promoted to executive vice president of football operations, his current role. From Oct. 2020 to the end of the regular season, Easterby was the interim general manager until Houston hired Nick Caserio as full-time general manager.

EVP Jack Easterby explains what drew him to the Texans

Houston Texans executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby told @pod_jacob what attracted him to the AFC South club in 2019.

Jack Easterby was a part of a winning culture with the New England Patriots.

The AFC East club had won three out of four Super Bowl appearances between 2013-18 when Easterby joined the team as a character coach. Easterby was influential behind the scenes to help keep the morale high as New England pursued football immortality.

In 2019, after the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII, Easterby was ready to move on.

Easterby joined the “Jacob and Jacob Podcast” hosted by Jacob Hare and Jacob Erlbaum and talked about how he ended up with the Houston Texans as their vice president of team development.

“My wife and I as we always do try to pray through the different opportunities that we’re given,” Easterby said. “If we have something that we think fits the skill set and just really believed in ownership in Houston, what they’re about, who they are, their passion for the Houston community, their passion to win and to get the football operation up to a championship standard. Really believe in that.”

The McNair family was coming off the death of founder Bob McNair on Nov. 23, 2018. McNair’s widow, Janice, became the owner of the team, but their son, Cal McNair, added another role as the chairman and CEO.

“I was really blessed by those visits and the time they had with the McNairs specifically, and that’s boded true,” said Easterby. “That’s exactly what happened and just got to continue to do the work that it takes to get us there.”

At the end of the 2019 season, coach Bill O’Brien doubled up as the general manager since Brian Gaine was fired on June 7, 2019. Easterby was promoted to his current role, although he served as Houston’s interim general manager from Oct. 5, 2020, to the end of the season after O’Brien was fired following an 0-4 start.

Said Easterby: “Really the people. I come back to the people, Jacob. I appreciate you asking that. I always come back to my feel for people and whether or not the people that you’re with and how you’re navigating things will align with everything that you feel it’s going to take and what you’re about. And we definitely have that here in Houston.”

The Texans have had one winning season since Easterby arrived in 2019. The past two seasons have resulted in double-digit losing campaigns. However, Easterby remains optimistic the Texans are on the right track.

Twitter reacts to the Texans hiring Lovie Smith as their new coach

Twitter was full of takes after the Houston Texans reportedly hired Lovie Smith as their new coach.

The Houston Texans have reportedly hired defensive coordinator and associate head ocach Lovie Smith as their fifth full-time coach in team history.

Smith, 63, last coached in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014-15. The Bucs went 8-24 over his two seasons. Prior to joining Tampa Bay, Smith coached the Chicago Bears from 2004-12, leading the NFC North club to division titles in 2005, 2006, and 2010 along with two conference title game berths in 2006 and 2010. At the end of the 2006 season, Smith led the Bears to a showdown with the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the news.

Report: Josh McCown turned down Texans’ offer for associate head coach in 2020

The Houston Texans offered Josh McCown the associate head coach position in 2020, but the former quarterback turned it down.

One of the chief criticisms of the Houston Texans interviewing former quarterback Josh McCown for their coaching vacancy is that he has zero coaching experience.

However, the Texans were trying to fill the void on that part of McCown’s resume last season.

According to John McClain on the Texas Sports Nation podcast, after executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby and general manager Nick Caserio interviewed McCown for the coaching vacancy, they offered the former 18-year NFL veteran a spot on David Culley’s staff.

I was told in 2020 they had bonded over the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. They’re both devout Christians, and I was told by two players and other members of the organization, you watch, Easterby is going to try to get him hired as a head coach. He was interviewed and he wanted to retire and go watch — I don’t know if it was one son or two — watch them that season, and they offered him the job as the associate head coach, and he said no because he wanted to take a year off. Now, they’ve interviewed him again. What’s the point? What’s changed with him? To me, why interview him a second time. Caserio interviewed him with Easterby the first time. They interviewed him again. I think he would be a tremendous addition to the offensive staff based on everything I’ve been told with his 12 teams. Everybody loves Josh McCown, think he’s going to make a tremendous coach. They said he would have been a tremendous analyst for ESPN where he briefly accepted a job before he went back to play with the Eagles. The Eagles offered him a coaching job.

The McCown flirtation looks worse now than it did a year ago because the former SMU and Sam Houston State product has been away from the game in any capacity for a year, and he is considerably under qualified for the job.