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The Houston Texans crossed a major chore off their offseason to-do list just days after their regular season ended. According to Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports NFL Insider, Houston has struck a deal to make Nick Caserio, the executive of the New England Patriots, its next general manager. Caserio has been the Director of Player Personnel for New England since 2008 and has been with the organization since 2001, which means this is a pretty seismic move in his NFL career.
This Texans chase of Caserio dates back to 2019 when Houston tried to get him out of Foxborough that summer after then-general manager Brian Gaine was sacked. The key connection between Caserio and the Texans is team vice president of football operations Jack Easterby, who was with the Patriots for six seasons before leaving for Houston in 2019.
While Houston may have sued him before, the Patriots triggered a clause in Caserio’s deal that prevented him from leaving and even went so far as to threaten forgery charges against the Texans for how they pursued him. That’s when the club backed down to try and sign a deal with Caserio and simply appointed head coach Bill O’Brien as general manager. O’Brien has since been fired, releasing not only the role Caserio is set to take on, but also the head coach position, which he will now help try to fill.
One remarkable aspect of this hire is how it might solidify Easterby’s position within the organization. According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Caserio was not one of the last candidates on the list that research firm Korn Ferry presented to the team.
The Texans interviewed Matt Bazirgan, Trent Kirchner, Omar Khan, Louis Riddick and were scheduled to speak with Scott Cohen, who were all on that final list, per Garafolo. However, they still decide to go with Caserio. Texans CEO Cal McNair has also reportedly told candidates in interviews that they will let the next GM decide Easteby’s role with the club in the future. Considering Easterby and Caserio’s past relationship, it looks like his role is secure going forward with this hiring dropping.
While Caserio didn’t have the GM title in New England, he was essentially the de facto general manager of Bill Belichick’s Patriots for the last several years.
“Nick does a great job”, Belichick said of Caserio in January 2019. “He does a lot of different things for us. I’m sure he does more than anyone in the league in his position in terms of interacting with the team, the coaching staff, the college and pro scouting. is involved in a lot of different things and does a great job at all. His job description would be several pages long. ”
Caserio has his work cut out for him with the Texans, who have just finished a 4-12 season and are in a tough spot and have no first-round pick this year. That said, he has quarterback Deshaun Watson to build, which is a major item he won’t have to seek out as he begins his tenure in Houston.
As for the Patriots, assistant director of player personnel Dave Ziegler could have the indoor track to replace Caserio.
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