Tag: Texans general manager

Why is Jack Easterby still with the Texans?

Jack Easterby was in some ways a Bill O’Brien hire. After the coach’s firing from the Houston Texans, why did Easterby stick around?

Jack Easterby and Bill O’Brien were two peas in a pod.

When Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair decided to double up O’Brien as coach and general manager following the 2019 season, Easterby similarly was promoted from executive vice president of team development to executive vice president of football operations.

On Oct. 5, 2020, O’Brien was fired after an 0-4 start. However, not only did Easterby stick around, but he took over as the interim general manager.

“That wasn’t something Jack pushed for or wanted,” McNair told reporters on Jan. 8. “It was something I needed, and, so, I’m really grateful that he did that. He took a lot of heat for it. He did.”

Easterby took over in what McNair said were “administrative type tasks.” Although Easterby was a name to fill in for contacts sent to the league offices, the Texans did listen to offers to trade outside linebacker Jacob Martin and receiver Will Fuller. The Texans also traded defensive takle Eli Ankou to the Dallas Cowboys.

With Nick Caserio hired as general manager, McNair indicated Easterby would stick around with the Texans.

“Jack was there for a few months, did the job he was asked, and now he’s ready to step back into some of his earlier roles,” said McNair. “Nick will step in here, be the GM. Nick has got the roster, the draft, the free agency. Nick will be supported by me. I will do everything I can to help Nick succeed. I want Nick to succeed here.

“Jack will do whatever Nick asks him to do to succeed. So we’ll all work together like I had mentioned, being collaborative, cooperative, and get this thing going exactly where we want it.”

Easterby’s original role before the firing of O’Brien was as executive vice president of football operations. Even reverting back to that role indicates he will have input on the roster, even if the buck stops with Caserio.

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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.

Can the Texans even trade QB Deshaun Watson following his contract extension?

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is reportedly unhappy. Could the club even trade him given there is a no-trade clause in his contract?

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is unhappy.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, part of the reason Watson is unhappy about the organization’s recent direction is due to the perceived insensitivities regarding social justice, as exemplified by their refusal to interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for the coaching vacancy.

It all begs the question: can the Texans trade Watson given that he has a no-trade clause in his contract?

Mortensen tweeted that “informed speculation from a source” indicates the club could find a trade partner, specifically the Miami Dolphins. Houston might be able to get some draft capital back and a young franchise quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa.

The problem is Houston would be going backwards in terms of addressing the quarterback position. Tagovailoa still has to develop as a quarterback while Watson has already passed through certain trials and proven himself worthy of a second contract.

The Texans have to fix their problems with Watson and fast.

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.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick says Texans’ Nick Caserio ‘deserving’ to be a general manager

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says that the Houston Texans’ Nick Caserio is very deserving to be an NFL general manager.

Bill Belichick is straightforward and doesn’t sugarcoat things.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach released a statement on the Houston Texans’ hiring of former Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio. Belichick was very complimentary of Caserio, who he has worked with since 2001, the beginning of the Patriots’ dynasty.

“Nick Caserio is one of the hardest working, dependable and team-oriented people I have worked with and his ability to handle a wide array of responsibilities is unique,” Belichick said in the statement. “Nick’s contributions came on a daily basis and ultimately led to years of success and six championships, for which I am very appreciative. He did an excellent job for us and is extremely deserving of the opportunity to be a general manager.”

Caserio had been the director of player personnel for New England since 2008. The John Carroll University alumnus takes over as the fifth general manager in Texans history.

What will Texans GM Nick Caserio do with Jack Easterby?

New general manager Nick Caserio provided clarity as to Jack Easterby’s role with the Houston Texans going forward.

Nick Caserio and Jack Easterby have a special relationship.

The two men were both a part of the New England Patriots organization, cogs in the dynasty. Easterby’s role as a character coach was transient from 2013-18 while Caserio was there the whole time in a variety of roles from 2001-20, most recently as the director of player personnel since 2008.

Caserio and Easterby have two Super Bowl rings together from working with coach Bill Belichick and the Kraft family. More importantly, Easterby has helped Caserio outside of football.

“He’s helped me a lot I would say personally,” Caserio said. “We’ve actually dealt with some things on a personal level through the year, but he’s someone that I’ve always leaned on, I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for.”

Caserio clarified that personnel decisions will be made as a group, but also underscored that chairman and CEO Cal McNair entrusted him to make personnel decisions for the Texans.

“Any personnel decisions that will be made we’ll make as a group, but ultimately that’s a responsibility that Cal has instilled in me, is to handle the personnel side of the football operations,” said Caserio. “So, that’s the expectation moving forward.”

Texans fans have been longing for the dismissal of Easterby. However, Houston sports fans may have to come to grips with the reality that Caserio isn’t going to fire his friend.

Said Caserio: “Jack will have a role and we’ll work in conjunction with each other on a number of things for sure. But as it pertains to football decisions, those will ultimately be my decision in conjunction with the head coach once we get to that point, as well.”

In October, McNair told Texans Radio Network play-by-play voice Marc Vandermeer that Easeterby would revert back to his role as executive vice president of football operations after completing his role as interim general manager.

Texans’ Cal McNair says organization ‘totally aligned’ with Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt

Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair says the organization is “totally aligned” with Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt

Houston Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair says that the franchise is simpatico with its two star players, quarterback Deshaun Watson and defensive end J.J. Watt.

Since the hiring of Nick Caserio as general manager, Watson at least has not been enthusiastic about the hire. According to reports, Watson has yet to talk to the organization since the hire.

As such, the rumor mill has produced speculation that three-time Pro Bowl quarterback could ask for a trade, and Caserio addressed those rumors when questioned.

“He’s our quarterback, and again, once we have an opportunity, spend some time together, we’ll have further discussions,” Caserio said. “I can’t tell you how much respect and administration that I have for him, for who he is as a player and what he means to this franchise.”

McNair was impressed with Caserio’s statement, calling it “awesome” and saying it brought “a little tear” to his eye.

“I love that stuff,” said McNair. “I love your passion and the integrity that you have, and you’re just going to be such a good thing for us here. Just what you said is exactly why you’re here. In regards to 4 and 99, they’re valued members on our team. They’re important to the team and the city. They’re passionate and they want to win, and those are all totally in alignment with where we’re going and what we’ve done here in bringing Nick aboard. So it’s perfect. We’re totally aligned.”

The Texans will have to get Watson and Watt on-board with the changes quickly. The last big hire left to be made is coach.

See the individuals Nick Caserio thanked for landing the Houston Texans general manager job

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio thanked these individuals for being able to become the new leader of an NFL front office.

The Houston Texans introduced Nick Caserio as their fifth general manager in club history. The 45-year-old thanked the following people for being able to have a shot at being an NFL team’s front office boss.