If the Houston Texans had stayed on course and followed the recommendation of search firm Korn Ferry, they probably 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 were the two finalists before Texas owner Cal McNair changed his mind, ignored the search company’s recommendation that paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do weeks of work and hired former New England Patriots staff director Nick Caserio, the sources said.
Several people in the Texan organization, including quarterback Deshaun Watson, were upset at how the Houston search took a sudden and unexpected turn, hiring a man that Korn Ferry did not include on his list of candidates.
Watson is said to be furious about the decision, and others too, with some saying that there will be employees who will end up leaving the organization during the off-season.
Watson is on vacation and McNair said he expects to speak to the quarterback as soon as he returns. But how it will happen, if it does, remains uncertain. Some in the league believe Watson may choose to suspend his services this season. Watson did not comment on this option, but others insist that it will be at stake.
A person who knows Watson said this week that after Texans switched to Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in low season, the quarterback’s anger level was “a 2. … This time, it’s a 10.”