SO FAR, SO BAD
Texans’ Easterby earns a spot among Houston’s most hated sports executives
Easterby isn’t city’s worst sports executive ever, but it’s still early.
Jack Easterby is the worst. Right?
Well …
A former Rockets general manager was so suspect that Hakeem Olajuwon questioned his integrity and called him a coward.
The guy who was in charge of Astros’ moves traded away a future two-time MVP in a deal that included a future four-time Gold Glove winner, got rid of a two-time All-Star who would play in three more All-Star games, and dealt a pitcher who immediately posted three 20win seasons after the trade.
The Oilers once had a general manager who was elevated to the position in an in-house promotion to replace the most beloved coach in Houston sports history.
As if taking Bum Phillips’ job wasn’t bad enough, this GM was involved in a host of incidents that proved he was of questionable character.
On a road trip to Buffalo, he was arrested and charged with assault after he punched the bride’s brother during an altercation at a wedding reception. Then, with the sweatpants he was wearing serving a legitimate purpose, he allegedly mooned the entire wedding party.
He once got drunk at lunch and attacked a Chronicle sports columnist. And he traded Earl Campbell.
Let me repeat, this man replaced Bum, traded the Tyler Rose and swung on a newspaper columnist. Can I get somebody to retroactively dial 9-1-1?
Yet through all the bad decisions and frustrations during his nine-year run, Ladd Herzeg isn’t the worst executive in Houston sports history.
Neither is Jack Easterby.
It is remarkable that Easterby has worked his way anywhere near the top of the list of the most loathsome executives in Houston sports history.
We’re talking about a guy whose official decision-making run with the franchise lasted just a little more than three months — from the day Bill O’Brien was fired as general manager, to when Nick Caserio was hired.
Overall, Easterby has been with the Texans for less than two years. He started with the made-up title of executive vice president of team development in April of 2019.
Yet, despite being a shorttimer, the former team chaplain is so despised in these parts that people are scouring the Web for videos of his church presentations and making fun of them.
Which brings to mind a story about my nephew Derrick, a precocious mini-genius who once told a friend of mine that he had lost a girlfriend to a fellow first- or second-grader.
When asked if he had plans on fighting the alleged thief of hearts, Derrick offered a vehemently nonviolent response: “No sir, I’m gonna talk about him.”
And here we are. Talking about Easterby.
The social media hashtag “#fireEasterby” is a popular one and a group of protesters showed up at NRG Stadium recently demanding that he be fired.
They didn’t storm the Capitol.
The video clips of some of Easterby’s, um, presentations, are quite entertaining, though, out of context, surely not as he intended them to be or even now imagines that they are.
Those have nothing to do with football or the Texans.
But this is what we have come to because the Texans have fallen apart under Cal McNair’s ownership.
He promoted Easterby to a position that he didn’t deserve and failed to realize that Easterby was in over his head.
Being woefully underqualified for a position doesn’t make one the devil.
Do we roast the placekicker for throwing a terrible pass during a trick play, or the coach who designed and called it?
When he named Easterby the interim GM after he fired O’Brien, McNair put Garo Yepremian in at quarterback.
Yepremian’s infamy was a result of circumstance. Easterby’s is from ineptitude.
Herzeg was considered to be a jerk by many, but footballwise he made a host of outstanding moves while running the Oilers.
Among them, he signed Hall of Famer Warren Moon as a free agent, drafted Hall of Fame linemen Bruce Matthews and Mike Munchak, and made a genius trade for Drew Hill, which is one of the best analytical moves in league history.
As far as we know, thus far, Easterby hasn’t done anything right.
Three sources say Easterby is bothered by death threats, and if true, that is a particularly disturbing aspect of this situation.
Despite being perceived as a buffoon by many who have worked around him — and far sleazier by some others — the man has done nothing to warrant such threats.
Easterby, who claims his career is “devoted to the development of character and organizational culture,” is a believer. He probably believes his actions have helped, or will help, the Texans improve on both fronts.
The problem isn’t so much that fans don’t believe in him, it’s that players don’t trust him. And since he has been with the organization, the team has been shaped in his image.
“He wants everyone to confide in him and if you’re not comfortable with that, you’re a problem,” one player said.
Easterby’s power within the organization is buffered by a weak owner, who has bought the snake oil and seems prepared to drink the Kool-Aid.
As for the damage that can be done, Easterby just got here.
He pushed for the DeAndre Hopkins trade and is the main reason Deshaun Watson no longer wants to be associated with the organization.
And he just got here.
Imagine what he can do over time.