Former Patriots executive wants a coach who is a good teacher and communicator
As the fifth general manager in Texans’ history, Nick Caserio has a number of issues he has to address — some sooner than others.
Finding the right head coach to be the face of the franchise is the most important thing Caserio has to do. Now that the Texans have hired their general manager, no candidate has been ruled out, according to those involved in the search.
Caserio will recommend a coach to owner Cal McNair, who’ll sign off on it.
“The priority is trying to identify the right head coach for the organization,” Caserio said. “Coaching is teaching — that’s what coaching’s about, your ability to teach, adjust and learn how to get the information to your people so they can go on the field on Sunday to be productive.”
Caserio worked with one head coach, Bill Belichick, in his 20year career at New England, where they reached nine Super Bowls and won six of them.
“There’s only one of him, and he’s the unicorn,” Caserio said.
Caserio knows what he wants in a head coach.
“When you’re in that position, your ability to lead and to articulate a message to a large group of people on a day-to-day basis and be consistent with that message are paramount,” he said. “And you have to assemble a staff that’s able to take that message and permeate it to their respective groups.”
The Texans will interview more offensive and defensive coordinators before making a decision. They’ve interviewed former coaches and current assistants.
“At this point, it’s not necessarily about names,” Caserio said. “We’re going to do whatever we feel is best for the organization, and that’ll be front and center here as we move forward.
“Team building is an all-encompassing endeavor, and there are a lot of areas that are involved, and you don’t want to be married to one thing in particular.”
At his introductory Zoom conference call on Friday with the media, Caserio answered questions about the coaching search, his relationship with executive vice president Jack Easterby and the Texans’ disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“He’s our quarterback,” Caserio said. “I can’t tell you how much respect and admiration that I have for him, for who he is as a player and what he means for this franchise.
“We’re starting from ground zero, and the most important thing for us is to speak specifically to Deshaun. When the time’s appropriate, we’ll spend some time with Deshaun. I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Caserio is being reunited with Easterby. They worked together for six years in New England.
“Jack and I have had a special relationship,” Caserio said. “He’s someone I’ve always leaned on, I have tremendous respect and admiration for.”
Caserio made it clear he’s in charge of personnel decisions and not Easterby, who was interim general manager after Bill O’Brien was fired four games into the season.
“Any personnel decisions we’ll (coaching and personnel staffs) make as a group, but, ultimately, that’s a responsibility Cal has instilled in me, to handle the personnel side of the football operation,” he said. “Jack will have a role, and we’ll work in conjunction with each other on a number of things.
“But as it pertains to football decisions, those will, ultimately, be my decision in conjunction with the head coach once we get to that point as well.”
Caserio was hired because he shares the same vision of the McNair family that owns the team. Cal McNair wants harmony between the general manager and head coach to create a positive working environment.
Caserio believes it’s vital that he and the coach work closely and don’t let disagreements become personal, which can tear apart an organization.
“The most important thing is to have honest and open communication,” he said. “Having humility, having no ego and trying to put the team first at all costs and not lose sight of those things.
“There’ll be things that come up and we have some disagreements, and we discuss it, and as long as the intentionality is good and once the decision is made, we have to support it. We have to rely on each other and trust each other, and when a decision is made, we have to support that decision.
“We’re all trying to do the same thing. It’s not about my draft pick or my decision. It’s the Texans’ decision relative to trying to do what we think is best. If we have an understanding about the goal and the mindset, hopefully, we can move in the right direction and make some progress.”
Caserio needs to get to know his personnel people, including his directors and scouts. They’ve been working on free agency and the draft for almost a year. Most contracts don’t expire until after the draft.
“What’s going to be important for us to do is to just spend time with them and figure out what makes sense,” Caserio said. “They’ve done a lot of work, and they’ve accumulated a lot of information to this point, so a big part of it will be me spending time with them and building a trust and rapport with each other.”
Caserio wants everyone to have the same goal.
“Our goal is to build a program that centers on being selfless and willingly accepting challenges which we’ll unquestionably face each day,” he said. “Always put the team above yourself.
“Nothing will be more important than the team. Others before self, team before I. That’ll be the mindset, and that’ll be the expectation of everybody that walks into the building on a daily basis.”