Elsa/Getty Images

Jack Easterby at center of Patriots' tampering charge against Texans

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 6/12/19

A new executive hired by the Houston Texans named Jack Easterby is at the center of the New England Patriots’ tampering charge against the Houston Texans.

The Patriots on Wednesday filed tampering charges against the Texans for their pursuit of Nick Caserio to fill their GM vacancy. The Texans fired Brian Gaine suddenly on Friday after just one year on the job. The surprising move came a day after Easterby, a former Patriots employee, attended the Patriots’ Super Bowl ring ceremony at the home of team owner Robert Kraft, where Caserio was also present.

NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo says the Patriots may be connecting the presence of Easterby at the ceremony to the firing of Gaine the next day, along with reports that Caserio was immediately viewed as Houston’s top target.

Jack Easterby, now a VP for the Texans, was at the Pats’ ring ceremony. The next day, Gaine was fired. That’s the connection the Pats might be making here. https://t.co/z7iUvQXdCb

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 12, 2019

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says evidence of potential tampering could come from proof of interactions between Easterby and Caserio.

Evidence of potential tampering come from photos, videos, other proof of interactions between Texans exec @JackEasterby and Caserio at last Thursday's Patriots ring ceremony, which happened the night before the Houston G.M. job became vacant.

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 12, 2019

Easterby was a former team chaplain for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2011 to 2012 and hired to serve as a life coach/character coach for the Patriots from 2013 to 2018. He left the Patriots earlier this year after feeling uneasy over Kraft’s massage parlor case, according to the Boston Globe. He ended up getting hired by the Texans and began working for them in April. He is serving as their executive vice president of team development, and his influence within the franchise is said to be growing.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: