Former Houston Texans President Rootes Takes Soccer Job

Jamey Rootes, the long-time president of the Houston Texans who recently resigned that post, is staying in Houston and he's back in sports.

Rootes is joining the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash as their new chief executive officer, according to a report from Vanessa Richardson of KPRC-TV in Houston.

The former Texans president has a background in soccer, as previous to the time when he aided the late Bob McNair in bringing the NFL back to Houston, Rootes was the president and general manager of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

Some have raised questions about the reason for Rootes leaving the Texans, his employer of more than 20 years, wondering whether any dysfunction in the front office was tied to that move. The Texans have in many ways turned the page from the previous era, certainly on the football side, where owner Cal McNair supervises new general manager Nick Caserio and new coach David Culley. But through the changes, all involved said all the right things about Rootes, including his Texans successor, the new president Greg Grissom.

“I got the opportunity to work for Jamey for almost 20 years,” Grissom said recently. “What did I learn? ... He just taught me about doing the right thing, treating people the right way and investing back in our team and our teammates that work with us every day and then obviously our community as a whole.''

And now Jamey Rootes will continue his front-office work in the same community of Houston ... just down the street from the Texans, working to build up the sport of Major League Soccer in this area.