Tag: nick caserio

Texans’ Cal McNair accepts responsibility for Houston fans being upset

Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair says that he accepts the blame for the fans being upset and the media being extra scrutinizing.

Someone has to take the heat; it comes with the territory of being a leader.

Cal McNair is the top dog in the Houston Texans’ power structure as the team’s chairman and CEO. Houston sports fans have been agitated since the trade of three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Instead of success with a couple different pieces for Deshaun Watson to work with, the Texans failed to launch with a 4-12 finish, Bill O’Brien fired as coach and general manager, and the dysfunction persisting as Watson’s communication with the organization has been laconic since the hiring of general manager Nick Caserio.

As a result, the media has focused on the Texans and scrutinized all of their decisions as the outcome so far has been nothing more than to perturb Watson.

McNair accepts the responsibility.

“Change is hard, and we’re going through change,” McNair said Friday via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “I accept that everything hasn’t gone perfectly. We’re working through it. If players, media and fans are upset, that’s on me. And I’ll apologize for my actions or communications that’s created mistrust.”

Part of why fans are frustrated is because of the elevation of Jack Easterby, a former character coach for the New England Patriots from 2013-18. The Texans hired Easterby as executive vice president of team development in April of 2019 in another move that had all the signals of Houston trying to be the Patriots’ southern command. Easterby was promoted to executive vice president of football operations at the same time O’Brien was promoted to general manager in January of 2020.

Easterby has been as much a part of the 4-12 debacle as anyone else, and given his friendship and work history with Caserio, a former New England Patriots director of player personnel, the front office hire reeked more of cronyism than a commitment to winning.

“I accept the fans’ frustration,” said McNair. “I’ll listen and learn and commit to getting better. We’re trying to win and chase championships, and I’m committed to doing that.”

The next hire the Texans have to make to resume as a fully operational franchise is coach, and the right hire could turn the tide to where McNair is accepting credit again and not blame.

How long is Romeo Crennel still under contract with the Texans?

Houston Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel is still technically the lead guy on the sidelines, at least until February.

New general manager Nick Caserio doesn’t need to be in a rush to find a new coach for the Houston Texans: he already has one.

Interim coach Romeo Crennel told reporters on Jan. 4 that he is still under contract with the team through February.

“My contract is up and I think it’s a February one or February 15th date, I’m not exactly sure,” Crennel said. “I’ve had no discussions at this point beyond that fact. The other coaches, most of the young coaches, their contracts are up. I don’t know what date is on those contracts but the team can control them for two weeks.”

The assistant coaches fall under a different criteria, which is why Caserio was visiting with a number of them last week, including offensive coordinator Tim Kelly.

“I think January 12th is the date that the team has the option of retaining them or denying permission for them to talk to people,” said Crennel. “Then, after that they become free agents and they can talk to whoever they want to talk to. I know that time is a factor. Jobs availability, that’s a factor. If the club decides if they want to keep a guy until the 12th, then they will be able to keep him until the 12th. After the 12th, he will be able to go talk to anybody he wants to about a job availability. That’s what those young guys are looking at. If coaches have time remaining on their contracts, then the team can control who they are allowed to talk to and when they are allowed to talk.”

According to Crennel, sometimes teams will tell assistant coaches to interview with the new coach to see if there is a fit.

Said Crennel: “In my experience, most teams will tell coaches, ‘we would like for you to interview with the new staff of the new coach to see if they might want to keep you. Then, if he does not want to keep you, they will give you permission after that point to talk.’ In my estimation that’s somewhat of a detriment to the coach because he could potentially be getting a job, and the new guy hasn’t been named yet and the team wants to hold assistants until they can talk to the new guy.”

The Texans have cleared the first hurdle and signed Caserio as their general manager. Now, they have to determine who will replace Crennel, who is sticking around for now.

Report: Texans expected to interview Ravens’ David Culley for head coaching vacancy

Baltimore Ravens wide receivers coach and assistant head coach David Culley is expected to interview for the Houston Texans head coach job

The Baltimore Ravens are still going strong in the playoffs and that has other teams quite interested in their coaching staff. With a number of vacancies around the league right now, Baltimore is surely going to be a favorite destination for team owners and general managers as they try to find their next head coach.

That’s precisely what the Houston Texans are doing, as it’s expected they’ll interview Ravens assistant head coach and wide receivers coach David Culley for their vacant head coaching job, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Culley has quite the resume backing him up here. He’s been the assistant head coach both at Baltimore and with the Kansas City Chiefs over the last decade, including the last two with the Ravens. And with both John Harbaugh and Andy Reid being among the most respected coaches in the game right now, that carries quite a bit of weight.

But it’s also a little shocking Culley is getting attention before guys like defensive coordinator Don Martindale and offensive coordinator Greg Roman this season. Both Martindale and Roman were among the favorites for coaching gigs at this time last year and while both have had continued success with the Ravens this season, there hasn’t been much chatter about their chances.

The Texans have a new general manager in former New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio after firing former general manager and coach Bill O’Brien midseason. However, with limited draft capital and quarterback Deshaun Watson allegedly angry over the lack of input in the general manager search, Houston might not be the greatest landing spot right now.

We’ll see if the Ravens lose any of their staff this season or if several people just get interviews before returning to Baltimore. However, with the playoffs still ongoing, hopefully everyone’s attention is focused on beating the Buffalo Bills this weekend to advance to the AFC Championship Game.

[listicle id=59527]

4 reasons why the Texans aren’t trading QB Deshaun Watson

There are rumors swirling that the Houston Texans could trade quarterback Deshaun Watson, but here are four reasons why they will not.

The Houston Texans are grist for the rumor mill, and the latest rumor is that the club could trade a disgruntled Deshaun Watson.

Because there is no better way to improve as an organization than to trade your franchise quarterback. If the 1990s Buffalo Bills would have done this with Jim Kelly, maybe they would have won a Super Bowl; it’s the only way forward.

Here are four reasons why the three-time Pro Bowler isn’t going anywhere.

Report: Dave Ziegler withdrawing from Broncos GM search to remain with Patriots

The Patriots have one sigh of relief with retaining Dave Ziegler, their top personnel guy.

Bill Belichick luckily held on to one of his top personnel guys.

Dave Ziegler, the assistant director of player personnel, is withdrawing from the Denver Broncos’ general manager search, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Ziegler was the top candidate to replace Nick Caserio, but he quickly was wrapped up in the interview process with Denver.

Caserio spent 20 seasons with the organization and the last eight were under the director of player personnel role. He was Belichick’s right-hand man in the personnel department and Ziegler was directly below him. Belichick couldn’t afford to lose that much institutional knowledge in an offseason that has much uncertainty.

Ziegler is in position to take over the Patriots’ general manager rule, but per the Rooney Rule, there still will be an interviewing process.

Starting with Cam Newton, the Patriots have many decisions to make to become a winning team next season.

[vertical-gallery id=101046]

4 problems Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio has to resolve immediately

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio must resolve these four problems immediately before he can begin to fix the team’s 4-12 finish.

The Houston Texans aren’t making the same mistakes in 2021.

They’re just making all new ones.

Newly hired general manager Nick Caserio is getting his first crack at running an NFL front office after spending the last 19 years inside the New England Patriots organization, playing a key role in the club’s six Super Bowl champions and sundry AFC East titles they keep as doorstops throughout the facility.

The 45-year-old has more to do than fix a team that finished 4-12. Caserio has some issues that need to be resolved before he can even begin to fix the Texans.

Texans would be going backwards trading QB Deshaun Watson

The Houston Texans would be taking a backwards step as their first move in the Nick Caserio era, and the franchise doesn’t want to do that.

Houston sports fans need to to relax and calm down.

The Texans are not going to trade Deshaun Watson, and they aren’t even going to entertain such a trade involving their three-time Pro Bowler, who is the cornerstone of the franchise and key reason why they have even made the playoffs two of the last three seasons.

Newly appointed general manager Nick Caserio’s first move is not going to be trading away the franchise’s best quarterback in its history. If Caserio is truly going to right the ship that O’Brien ran aground, it doesn’t start with doing even more damage than O’Brien could have possibly imagined — for mid-round draft picks, of course.

Even if hypothetically speaking a team calls the Texans to inquire about a trade for Watson, it better start off with a bare minimum of three first-round picks just to keep the phone from hanging up. At that price, teams would be better off taking someone in the draft themselves and cultivating that talent rather than mortgaging their future.

If anyone is getting traded, look for Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt as Caserio works to get some traction going in an offseason where the club won’t have a first or second-round pick.

Trading Mercilus or Watt or both should net you at least a third-round pick or possibly a second. Also in free agency there are a few players the Texans could look at, like receiver Allen Robinson and pairing him with Brandin Cooks. There are many needs for the Texans this offseason and while most will not get filled in just one offseason we should have a better view and idea of how this team is going to be shaped in the coming months.

Trading Watson is not how the Texans are going to right the ship. Every article entertaining the idea is just another announcement of, ‘this way to the egress.’ Texans fans need to wait patiently and see who the club hires as a coach. Maybe that is the move that finally pacifies Watson and the trade rumors fade away.

Report: Texans QB Deshaun Watson’s anger level ‘at a 10’ over Nick Caserio hiring

The Houston Texans’ first big problem to deal with this offseason is cooling the anger of their franchise quarterback, Deshaun Watson.

The Houston Texans’ first task of the offseason is to settle down quarterback Deshaun Watson.

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the three-time Pro Bowler is so angry at the organization that it is five times worse than what he felt after the trading of DeAndre Hopkins in March of 2020.

Watson is said to be furious over the decision, and others are as well, with some saying that there will be employees who wind up leaving the organization during the offseason.

Watson is on vacation, and McNair said he expects to speak with the quarterback once he returns. But how that will go, if it happens, remains uncertain. Some around the league believe that Watson could opt to withhold his services this season. Watson has not commented on that option, but others insist it will be in play.

One person who knows Watson said this week that, after the Texans traded Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins last offseason, the quarterback’s anger level was “a 2. … This time, it’s a 10.”

If Houston is unable to quell Watson’s wrath, they will have to explore some options, especially since his contract has a no-trade clause.

Report: Texans’ Cal McNair ignored search firm’s recommendation, hired Nick Caserio anyway

Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair reportedly did not take his own search firm’s recommendation and hired Nick Caserio anyway.

Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair did not go with the two choices for general manager.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Texans had two finalists in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Omar Khan and ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Louis Riddick. Instead, McNair at the last minute went with Nick Caserio, and that upset Deshaun Watson.

Had the Houston Texans stayed the course and followed the recommendation of the search firm Korn Ferry, they likely would have hired Pittsburgh Steelers vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan as their next general manager, league sources told ESPN.

Khan and ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Louis Riddick, who are both minority candidates, were the two finalists before Texans owner Cal McNair changed his mind, ignored the recommendation of the search firm he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do weeks of work and hired former New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, sources said.

Multiple people in the Texans organization, including quarterback Deshaun Watson, were upset with how Houston’s search took a sudden and unexpected turn, hiring a man that Korn Ferry did not include on its list of candidates.

With Caserio being buddies with Jack Easterby’s, whose foray into the organization as an executive vice president of team development coincided with Houston’s meandering path away from success, there is a sense that not all of the people responsible for the Texans’ 4-12 record are being held accountable.

Nick Caserio says Texans will ‘have to be creative’ with no 1st, 2nd-round picks

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says the team must be creative when it comes to roster construction without a first and second-round pick.

The Houston Texans don’t have a first-round and second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Blame Bill O’Brien.

One of new general manager Nick Caserio’s jobs is to fix some of O’Brien’s mistakes, including constructing a roster without two premium picks in the top-100. However, the former New England Patriots director of player personnel sees the obstacles as just another challenge that arises each season.

“I think every year has its own set of challenges, and you have to try to just look at the assets you may or may not have in place and try to be as creative as possible at building a team,” Caserio said.” There’s no one set formula how to put a team together. It’s not going to come from one particular area. It’s going to be a combination of things.

“We’re going to have to be creative. We’re going to have to really invest and utilize the resources that we have, and just try to take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves.”

If there is a bright spot to not having a first or second-round pick in the draft, it is because that was part of the price that needed to be paid to the Miami Dolphins for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who has earned both of his Pro Bowl selections in the two seasons he has been in Houston. At least protecting quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blindside won’t be one of Caserio’s tasks to complete this offseason.