How 'Important' Is The 'Gifted' Easterby To Texans?
For many months, there have been endless questions regarding the specific roles held by Houston Texans executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby. But no matter, as according to general manager Nick Caserio, Easterby remains "important" to the Texans as they move forward.
"I think Jack is very gifted, he's got a lot of great qualities," said Caserio on The Albert Breer Show.
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"I can't really speak about what has happened in the past relative to his role."
A divisive figure within the Texans' fanbase, Easterby has come under a great deal of scrutiny for the amount of control and power he has appeared to have within the organization.
To say it is unusual to see a team chaplain rise to interim general manager for an NFL franchise would be an understatement. And with this meteoric rise came countless questions, theories, and confused onlookers trying to make sense of his appointment and the specifics of his role.
Now under new management, Easterby is reunited with Caserio, a colleague from this time in New England. And Easterby's position within the team will seemingly be crucial, if publicly undefined.
"Jack's an important part of what we're doing, and I think we should all be grateful that he's here and he's got plenty of responsibility, that he's been given," said Caserio, who was quick to emphasize that when it comes to footballing decisions, he - the GM - is in charge.
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"But as it pertains to football decision making and football roster building and those types of things, that's the reason that I was brought in and that's my responsibility, and Jack has his role just like a lot of other people do within the football department."
This clarification of exactly who is making the football decisions is presumably due to mounting pressure from outsiders to understand if, and why, Easterby was put in a position to do so in the past.
However, while Caserio was vague when describing exactly what it is Easterby will be doing under his leadership, Caserio seemed confident that Easterby's presence will prove fruitful in the long-term.
"Whether it's Matthew Slater, Tom Brady, James White, David Andrews, the list goes on and on, Jack's impact in our team and in the building was pretty significant," said Caserio. "I think you'd find that to a man is how they feel about him."
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