Nick Caserio replaces former general manager/head coach Bill O'Brien who was fired in October; New GM will assist as team looks for new HC; New England Patriots won three Super Bowl titles with Caserio as director of player personnel
Wednesday 6 January 2021 11:51, UK
The Houston Texans have agreed to hire New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio as their general manager, according to the NFL Network.
Forty-five-year-old Caserio was coveted by the Texans last offseason, but their attempt to interview him was blocked by New England.
This time around, Houston managed to acquire him to fill the vacant role left by former GM (and head coach) Bill O'Brien, who was fired in October following an 0-4 start.
The team had interviewed Matt Bazirgan, Trent Kirchner, Omar Khan, and Louis Riddick for the role before securing Caserio.
Caserio has been with the Patriots since 2001, and in his current role since 2008 - an era of tremendous success that included three Super Bowl titles.
He will look to bring some of that success to a team that has won the AFC South in six of the last 10 seasons, but has not managed to get past the Divisional Round of the playoffs in that entire span.
The Texans will build around supremely talented quarterback Deshaun Watson - this year's passing yards leader despite the team's 4-12 record - who signed a four-year, $156m extension last summer.
However, Caserio will join a team with issues as they don't have first or second-round picks in this year's draft, and are projected to be almost $20m over the salary cap in 2021.
First up, they must decide on their next head coach, a process that Caserio is expected to be involved in.
