Jack Easterby‘s stint with the Texans ended earlier this week, with the organization parting ways with their executive vice president of football operations. It sounds like Easterby’s inability to mesh with two of the team’s top decision-makers ultimately led to his ousting. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Texans head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Nick Caserio “had frozen Easterby out” of decision-making ever since the offseason.
Easterby has seen a number of regime changes since joining the Texans in 2019, with the executive eventually being responsible for some personnel decisions. He ultimately played a major role in recruiting Caserio to Houston, with the two having previously worked together in New England. The GM has naturally taken control of personnel decisions, and it sounds like a reduced role for Easterby ultimately made him superfluous in the front office.
“My short time I worked with Jack was all good,” Smith said, via Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston.com. “He did a great job for us. Sometimes, divorce is a good thing. I’ve said that before, too.”
As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reports, there were some hints that Easterby’s stint in Houston was coming to an end. According to Florio, there was a “perception” that Easterby was “tapping into old relationships” as he prepared his inevitable job search, with the reporter adding that the executive specifically reached out to people from former gigs “for no apparent reason.”
One team that could end up being a suitor for Easterby is the Panthers, but Florio notes that owner David Tepper may not be willing to tolerate the executive’s baggage. The 39-year-old began his NFL career as a character coach with the Chiefs and Patriots, and it remains to be seen if either organization would welcome him back.
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