Tag: Texans general manager

Bill O’Brien shares biggest regrets from tenure as Texans GM

Former Houston Texans head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien on “Next Up with Adam Breneman” said he regrets becoming the team’s GM.

It seems like an eternity at this point following last season’s rapid turnaround, but four years ago, the Houston Texans were the NFL’s laughing stock.

They had just finished 4-12, had no first or second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, and their franchise quarterback had over two dozen sexual assault cases stacking on top of already requesting a trade.

The architect behind the dumpster fire was former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, who on Next Up with Adam Breneman said he regrets his time in the front office in 2019-2020.

“I didn’t really enjoy being the GM,” O’Brien said. “I didn’t enjoy negotiating contracts. In some respects, I lost relationships with some of the guys that I was coaching. In my opinion, very few guys in the history of football can ever (be a coach and GM simultaneously), and they’re the greatest of the greats.”

 

As a coach, O’Brien had a proven track record. Houston won the AFC South four times and went 52-48 in six seasons under his watch, yet still couldn’t advance past Round 2.

O’Brien went 2-4 in the postseason and never made it past the divisional round. Fans also heavily criticized his handling of the playbook in the 2020 playoff matchup against Kansas City after blowing a 24-0 lead and thought change was inevitable.

O’Brien admitted he was in full control of Houston’s front office during the 2019 season after former general manager Brian Gaine was fired in the offseason. He also said the Texans struggled to find a full-time general manager, which did factor into the title being placed on the head coach.

“I feel like I’m a good coach, but those things I’m not great at. … I can evaluate talent, I know how to evaluate talent, but I shouldn’t be negotiating contracts and things like that,” O’Brien said. “In the end, that was a mistake by me. I wish I really didn’t do that to be really honest with you.”

Not every move made by O’Brien was terrible. Prior to the start of the 2019 season, the Texans traded multiple first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for left tackle Laremy Tunsil. He’s been one of the league’s top pass protectors and has made the Pro Bowl in four of his five seasons in the franchise.

While the Tunstil trade hit, the DeAndre Hopkins one backfired and likely led to O’Brien’s dismissal four games into the season. David Johnson never regained his 2016 form, while Hopkins remained a star for the Arizona Cardinals en route to a postseason berth.

On top of not receiving a first-round pick for arguably the NFL’s top weapon, O’Brien figured he only needed one second-round pick and traded the Texans’ pick to Los Angeles for Brandin Cooks.

 

Throw in the Jadevon Clowney trade and the disastrous moves make D.J. Reader’s departure in free agency a footnote. Three years and two offensive coordinator stops later, O’Brien doesn’t appear bitter about his time with the franchise.

Now back as a head coach with Boston College, O’Brien feels he learned ample from his time leading a team in assets and looks to establish that with his new team in the ACC.

As for the Texans, they seemed to have picked up the pieces with Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans from O’Brien’s mess left behind.

4 reasons Texans GM Nick Caserio deserves NFL Executive of the Year

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio has demonstrated throughout 2023 why he should be considered for NFL Executive of the Year.

Life changes quickly in the NFL. Just ask Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio.

Not even a full year ago the Texans were amid their third consecutive season and at the bottom of the standings. Their 3-13-1 campaign and hiring of Lovie Smith had failed to build any momentum from previous coach David Culley’s 4-13 campaign the year prior. Any positive developments from young players were marred by a quarterback with Davis Mills that had failed spectacularly.

Once Smith was fired before the team could even return to Houston from their Week 18 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the calls for Caserio’s job were ample as well. How could a general manager not position his team to secure the first overall pick after that kind of season? How could that same executive be allowed to hire his third head coach in as many seasons?

The pressure on Caserio didn’t go away, even leading up to April’s 2023 NFL draft. There was speculation he may depart the organization after the draft or even be reduced to a different role with the team. It was hard to find any believer in Houston’s chief decision maker beyond his execution of a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns in 2022.

Fast forward to November 2023, halfway through the NFL season, and the story has changed.

Caserio not only has stopped hearing conversations about his job security, the third year general manager has had virtually every 2023 offseason decision vindicated. For as disastrous and pointless as the 2021 and 2022 Texans were, the 2023 team is every bit as fun and confidence-inspiring.

It’s the type of turnaround that garners national media attention and, potentially, even awards from the NFL national media. At the season’s midpoint, Caserio has a compelling argument for Executive of the Year for four primary reasons.

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Nick Caserio’s plans for Texans starting to come to fruition

After six weeks into 2023, it is apparent Nick Caserio’s plan for the Houston Texans is finally starting to take shape.

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.

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.

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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Texans willing to allow OL solutions to develop from within

The Houston Texans are betting on the in-house resources to fix their problems with the offensive line.

The Houston Texans’ offensive line was a position of strength, but a rash of training camp injuries relegated the unit to black hole that has sapped resources.

The Texans will have question marks at left guard, center, and right tackle when they take the field against the Baltimore Ravens Sept. 10 at M&T Bank Stadium.

General manager Nick Caserio told reporters Aug. 30 the club believes they have the solutions within the organization to address the offensive line.

“We still have more than capable players that, if the player is in the building, we feel good about them,” Caserio said.

The Texans traded for guard Kendrick Green, tackle Josh Jones, and signed tackle George Fant. Houston also claimed guard Nick Broeker off waivers from the Buffalo Bills after final cuts.

Continuing to go outside the organization, particularly at this juncture, could be costly for the Texans.

“There’s a cost of everything that you do, so there’s a financial cost, there’s a draft capital cost if you want to go down that road, so it is what it is,” said Caserio. “There’s nothing we can do about it. We can make some modifications and changes on the fringes, see if we can upgrade the depth, and I’d say there’s a lot of teams that are dealing with the same problem or situation, so we feel confident with the players that are in the building.”

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What is the timeline for Texans WR John Metchie to produce?

Houston Texans WR John Metchie has proven he can’t be kept down. Still, how long until he can produce in the passing game?

It never has been a question of if John Metchie will be kept down, but a matter of how long.

The Houston Texans’ 2022 second-round receiver made the active roster and is eligible for his first career game Sept. 10 against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Although Metchie’s fierce determination to overcome leukemia during his rookie season has become a staple of time in Houston, the former Alabama wideout still has yet to play in a game.

General manager Nick Caserio laid out for reporters Aug. 30 what a timeline for Metchie looks like to work into the vision the club had for him.

“I would say a player like that, there is probably a chance that he’s going to be a little bit better six to eight weeks down the road than maybe he is now,” Caserio said. “Just when you miss that amount of time — it’s just like your team. You’re really evaluating your team the first four weeks. You kind of sort of hope you know what you have, but you’re really not sure and then you get to week or five and it’s like you have more information.”

Even though Caserio approached the realistic regarding Metchie, even the Texans’ front office boss couldn’t help but touch on the receiver’s fundamental quality.

Said Caserio: “His work ethic and just his ability to fight through something that probably not a lot of people could fight through with a great attitude.”

Metchie caught 96 passes for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns in his final season at Alabama.

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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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Texans coach DeMeco Ryans says GM Nick Caserio is ‘really fun to work with’

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans says he and GM Nick Caserio have developed a “really great relationship” over the past couple of months.

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans wrapped up their final day of mandatory mini-camp, and with only some administrative things to take care of, coach DeMeco Ryans can finally take a break and relax briefly before training camp begins later this summer.

“I think it’s time for a little rest and relaxation,” said Ryans on Wednesday. “Especially for me. I’ve been going pretty non-stop since our last playoff game. So definitely a little rest and relaxation to make sure I’m powered up and ready to go for the season.”

The Texans hired Ryans following the San Francisco 49ers’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game in late January. Ryans spent six seasons with the 49ers with his last two as the defensive coordinator under coach Kyle Shanahan.

Houston made the former 2006 second-round linebacker a high-priority candidate at the end of the 2022 regular season after they fired former coach Lovie Smith.

Since his introductory press conference, one person has been by his side the entire time, general manager Nick Caserio.

“Nick has been really fun to work with,” Ryans said. “Nick is very knowledgeable — one of the smartest football minds I’ve been around. It’s not just the scouting part when it comes to acquiring players, but it’s also just the football knowledge, the scheme, the ‘x’s, and o’s.’ Having his knowledge and having a guy I can lean [on] for any question.”

That knowledge came in handy when Ryans was going through his first pre-draft process in Indianapolis, which led to them acquiring talent on both sides of the ball when they drafted former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson with back-to-back selections in the 2023 NFL draft.

From the beginning of the rookie minicamp to the conclusion of the mandatory minicamp, Ryans and Caserio have been on one accord on and off the field. They are constantly communicating about the team’s needs and direction and can be seen having frequent conversations. Caserio believes that Ryans is the right person to help take the Texans into the next phase of the rebuilding process after only winning a combined 11 games in the last three years.

It was imperative that Caserio made the proper head coaching selection after the hiring catastrophe Smith and David Culley before him, both of whom only served in that capacity for one season.

“What better person to lead this organization, to lead this team, to lead these players, than DeMeco Ryans,” Caserio said during Ryans introductory press conference in February. “I think everything that DeMeco exhibited as a player, what he’s done as a coach, his leadership, his selflessness, his toughness, his team-first mindset, his charisma, and I would say we didn’t really know each other, but the more and more time we spent together, it was almost a no-brainer as to who was the right fit for this team, this organization, this city.”

Four months later, Ryans echoed those sentiments about Caserio as well.

“We’ve become pretty tight over the last couple of months, and it’s been a really great relationship,” Ryans told the media. “I’m happy to be in this spot working with someone as experienced as Nick because he’s helped me and guided me through a lot. It’s always great to have someone you can lean on, someone you can trust, and in our relationship, we collaborate on everything.

“That was our plan coming into it, and that’s what we do. Every morning we’re meeting, making sure that we’re on the same page, and I think that’s how you grow when you have collaboration, and you have buy-in from everyone. Just like we’re asking our players to be one, me and Nick, we’re one on all of our decisions that we make, trying to make our organization the best it can be.”

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Texans’ 2023 draft class may define the Nick Caserio era

The Houston Texans’ 2023 draft class is the one that may define the Nick Caserio era as either a success or a failure.

One of the safety nets for the Nick Caserio era has been that he has spent the first two offseasons cleaning up the Houston Texans’ nuclear waste, whether from Bill O’Brien’s crack at playing in the front office or handling a disgruntled former face of the franchise.

The Texans picked twice in Round 1 for the second straight season. Their former quarterback is getting a second chance with the Cleveland Browns. All of the toxic waste has been cleared.

According to Trevor Sikkema from Pro Football Focus, the biggest takeaway from the 2023 draft was how Caserio took a big risk with the selections of quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson at Nos. 2-3 overall.

The Texans gave up a lot of future draft capital to select twice in the top three of the 2023 NFL Draft, coming away with C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. Both were seen as top-10 type of draft picks, so the value is fine, but if the clock wasn’t already ticking on general manager Nick Caserio, it is now. With 2024 looking like a strong class in a lot of ways, the Texans have to hope these two players are all they were drafted to be. If they are, they will be the cornerstones of each side of the ball.

The risk won’t set back the Texans too far if he is wrong. Either Houston gets a premier edge rusher without an effective passer, or the Texans get a playmaking quarterback with a dud on the edge. It would take a colossal failing beyond anyone’s control if both Stroud and Anderson did not live up to their potential.

However, if the risks from 2023 don’t appear to pay off, 2024 would be a perfect stopping off point for the organization. The Texans’ draft capital includes a selection in the first three rounds as opposed to waiting until Round 3 to make an initial selection, which is what Caserio had to work with in 2021.

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Nick Caserio grades the Texans’ 2023 draft class as ‘incomplete, to be determined’

General manager Nick Caserio gives the Houston Texans’ 2023 draft class an ‘incomplete, to be determined’ grade.

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio knows how he would grade the 2023 draft class.

The Texans brought in a nine-player group that includes twin first-rounders in quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Houston also found potential playmakers with receivers Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson. New coach DeMeco Ryans also got a key Alabama linebacker in Henry To’oTo’oo.

Some outlets have given the Texans a B grade for their work over the three-day event. Caserio is using a different set of letters.

“I/TBD — incomplete/to be determined,” Caserio said April 29. “That’s the reality of it. There will be 50,000 draft grades here tonight, tomorrow, what we did, what we didn’t do. I mean, based on what? These players haven’t done anything.”

What Caserio is more interested in is what the rookies can show throughout the offseason program as they acclimate to the speed of the NFL. There won’t be any hitting until training camp when the pads come on, but skill position players and even trench players can demonstrate their acumen for the Texans’ philosophies.

“We just try to add players that we think can help our football team in some capacity,” said Caserio. “Now that they’re here, they’ll determine what their role is. We can’t really get too caught up in that. I’m certainly not. Honestly, I don’t really care what the grades say. It doesn’t really affect anything that we do.”

The Texans are currently in Phase 2 of their offseason workout program, which consists of going at a walkthrough pace with individual and group drills. The offense and defense cannot line up against each other yet.

“I think the goal every year each step of the way is add players that we think have an opportunity to help us,” said Caserio. “Through that lens, hopefully we’ve done that. We’ll find out more when they actually are here and then when they actually get started in our program.”

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