Rooted Out: Texans President Resigns
HOUSTON - After months of rumors and speculation and reports on his status, there's no need to wonder anymore. Houston Texans team president Jamey Rootes will be be resigning from his role effective immediately.
The news officially broke Wednesday morning. The Texans have yet to make an official announcement at this time.
Hired by late owner Bob McNair, Rootes spent the better half of two decades leading the executive side of operations surrounding the 32nd franchise in the NFL. His work helped make the Texans the 10th most profitable team as of 2020, according to Forbes.com.
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Rootes, 54, oversaw the the business and administrative side of work from the Texans' organization. His role helped build one of the more built passionate fanbases across the league, leading to record-setting ticket sales from the team's inauguration year in 2002 all the way up until the COVID-19 pandemic limited fans in 2020.
Rootes was hired back in 2001 as the team's senior vice president of marketing following a successful stint in the MLS as the general manager of the Columbus Crew. He would later be promoted to team president in 2005.
The departure of Rootes comes at little surprise following the the recent moves surrounding the organization. As initially reported by Houston Chronicle's John McClain, the Texans are heading in a different direction under vice president Jack Easterby and owner Cal McNair.
“I think the organization is in a great place from a business perspective,” Rootes tells The Chronicle. “We’ve got a great leadership team. I thought the time was right for me to do something different.''
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According to McClain, Greg Grissom, Rootes' right-hand man, will remain in charge of the business side until the team can find his replacement.
