Texans fire controversial front office executive Jack Easterby

Monday, the Houston Texans relieved Jack Easterby of his duties with the team, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Easterby was the team’s EVP of football operations.

Easterby joined the Texans in 2019 and immediately began to accumulate power. He developed a very close relationship with Texans CEO Cal McNair.

Easterby’s influence continued to grow with the firing of former head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien four games into the 2020 season. Easterby was named the team’s interim general manager despite never truly holding a position involving personnel.

Easterby started in the NFL as a character coach and team chaplain for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011. After two seasons with the Chiefs, he spent the next six years with the New England Patriots. The Patriots hired him in part to help the team deal with the off-season arrest of TE Aaron Hernandez for murder. Easterby developed a good relationship with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and many people on his staff, including Bill O’Brien and Nick Caserio.

Easterby played a significant part in the hiring of Caserio, convincing Cal McNair to abandon the work done by a search firm to find a new GM and hire Caserio after a previous attempt to hire him the year before failed, resulting in tampering charges. The decision to move quickly on the hiring of Caserio finalized the rift between the team and then-QB Deshaun Watson, who had been promised input on the decision. Watson found out about the hire in the media.

Easterby’s role appeared to change with the hiring of Nick Caserio. Caserio took over all personnel and team-related duties, and Easterby was placed in charge of logistics and technology groups that supported workflow.

Easterby will be most remembered for being a part of the decision to trade All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals in a trade deemed one of the most lopsided in the history of the sport. Easterby also oversaw contract extensions for LB Zach Cunningham, DE Whitney Mercilus, and DB Bradley Roby, which saddled the team with bad contracts. The Texans have nearly $70M in dead cap money this season, which prevented them from being able to make significant moves in the offseason to improve the roster.