For the first time since 1974, an NFL season will kick off without Bill Belichick on the sideline. No, it isn't what the now-former New England Patriots coach wanted, as even at the age of 71, he still pursued another job following his mutual parting of ways, but it will be the reality... at least for now.
To say things won't be the same is an understatement and one that now Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio touched on during his Wednesday NFL Scouting Combine press conference.
“I’d say the league is always better when people like Bill Belichick are around,” Caserio said at the NFL Combine about Belichick being unemployed. “You look at this off-season, coach [Pete] Carroll, coach Belichick. Coach Belichick is the best coach in the history of not only football, [but] sport, in my opinion. He’s a big reason that I am where I am today, so I have a lot of respect, appreciation, and admiration for him."
Caseiro knows Belichick well, having spent 19 years working under him as a member of the Patriots front office. After starting as a personnel assistant in 2001, Caserio worked his way up the chain of command to essentially being Belichick's right-hand man as the director of player personnel, a position he held for 12 years.
Caseiro was one of the proverbial cogs in the machine that was the Patriots' nearly two-decade-long dynasty that netted them six Super Bowls. While Lombardi Trophies are the common measuring stick for just how successful an NFL franchise is, the Patriots' success didn't just stop on the field.
The dynasty also helped kickstart many careers, from that of coaches to front office personnel, who'd find themselves in bigger jobs around the league after being a mere cog in the Patriots' machine. The 48-year-old is a current example of that, heading into his fourth season in charge of the Texans' front office.
However, even while the shadow left behind by the no-doubt first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame coach looms large, Caserio is confident that the Patriots can refind their success under new leadership.
“There’s a number of folks in New England that they have in place that they feel comfortable with. They have a lot of talented people," Caserio said. "They’re probably going through a process of trying to figure things out, and I think all of us, that’s what we do each year; you just sort of try to figure things out. Certainly wish them nothing but the best."
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