The Houston Texans have hired Nick Caserio as their new general manager.
No franchise, including the Houston Texans and newly hired general manager Nick Caserio, will ever replicate the New England Patriots’ success. Yet, teams still attempt to poach members from Foxborough in an attempt to bring success to their team. Houston has once again gone that route by hiring the former Patriots Director of Player Personnel, Caserio.
Caserio had been blocked the previous year from becoming a general manager and now finally gets his opportunity. He should, however, be wary of the situation.
Houston has no first-round picks due to ill-advised trades spearheaded by former head coach Bill O’Brien. Defensive leader J.J. Watt has gone public, stating he does not want to be part of a rebuild. The silver lining for Caserio is that he has a proven franchise quarterback in Deshaun Watson. To rebuild this team, however, will take time.
Nick Caserio will face his toughest challenge right away with the Houston Texans.
Many have tried to go the route of hiring coaches and executive members under Bill Belichick only to produce lackluster results. However, Houston has a longer track record than most, with former Patriot players such as Larry Izzo serving as a special teams coordinator and former defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel serving as both a defensive coordinator and head coach.
At the top, however, was O’Brien. The recently departed head coach did take his team to the playoffs but his actions as a general manager often had fans voicing frustration in person or heading for the exits early to go straight to their computers and voice it through social media. While Mike Vrabel has certainly done well in Tennesse, he is an anomaly to emerge from this situation.
Caserio has a long road ahead of him. He can’t turn the Texans into the Patriots. But if he can deliver a state of winning to the organization, that alone will erase any questions the team or even the fans may have about him.