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Reactions are emerging following the news that the Texans will make the Patriots VP of players’ staff, Nick Caserio, the team’s next General Manager. The lead wire consists of two messages.
First, Easterby wins. As in the executive vice president of football operations, Jack Easterby. Caserio is an Easterby guy, who presumably will obey any Easterby authority.
Second, Easterby really wins. As reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, research firm Korn Ferry identified five candidates for the job: Texans player team director Matt Bazirgan, Seahawks VP of staff for Trent Kirchner players, Steelers VP for football and business administration Omar Khan, Louis Riddick and Ravens director of football research Scott Cohen. Korn Ferry did not include Caserio on its list of finalists.
But Caserio got the job, because that was what Easterby wanted – and Easterby won the power struggle with Korn Ferry. (Korn Ferry probably still gets its six-figure fee for creating a menu that Texans didn’t choose.)
“Easterby is a wizard,” says Garafolo.
Others in league circles would use other terms to describe Easterby. When hiring a GM, however, Easterby got the guy he tried to get in 2019. Which, as a league source noted, allows Easterby to continue pulling the strings without the responsibility of being the GM
Next, the question is whether Easterby will have his favorite coach. Some wonder whether it will be Patriots’ offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, who rejected the Colts three years ago and has been less interested in recent hiring cycles.
The first question is whether McDaniels is on the Korn Ferry list. Otherwise, McDaniels could be the right man for the job.