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GM Candidates

amazing80

Hall of Fame
I figured it would be nice to have some discussion on these things in one place. Here are a few candidates that I would like to see considered, please comment and post your own thoughts

1. Mike Borgonzi, Director of Player Personnel, KC. Mike has been mentored by some of the best evaluators in the business and has extensive knowledge of putting together a winning team. He has experience in systems that fit our offense and has enough connections to be able to put together a legit coaching staff. He would be a first time GM.

2. Elliot Wolf, consultant for NE. At first glance I do not love this. I do not think he has the track record of success that we should be looking for. I do not know as much about him, so please fill me in.

3. Ed Dobbs has a great resume. He was a key cog in the Seattle run and is helping the Colts solidly their team. Rumor has it he is a little gun shy at running his own team, but there is no denying his previous experience As a talent evaluator.

4. Nick Caserio. We all know this guy. I am not a fan of this route.

5. George Paton, Vikings Assistant GM. He has experience, good and bad. He has helped put together a talented Vikings team. He seems patient, looking for a good job offer.

6. John Dorsey (could hire him now, he is unemployed). He has a lot of experience, seems to put together talented teams wherever he goes, but never keeps a job long. Personality issue?

Please add more details and additional options
 

powda

The bridge between stupid and useless is short.
I'm going to make a suggestion and I don't know if this guy is even available anymore...

I don't want him as a gm. I dont want him as a talent evaluator. I don't want him running day to day operations. Cap may or may not be his wheelhouse- not certain. I want to retain Sashi Brown as part of an "asset acquisition team" to recoup all those stupid ob trades and load our guns for bear. We'd have a surplus of picks in the '22 draft.
 

TexansFight

Veteran
I have nicknamed Easterby ”Rasputin”. Like the original, he has come out of nowhere with a hold over those in power that can’t be explained. Hopefully, he will be easier to ”kill” off than the real one. I don’t want him to have any hand over choosing our GM and coach. No more Patriots retreads.
 

powda

The bridge between stupid and useless is short.
I have nicknamed Easterby ”Rasputin”. Like the original, he has come out of nowhere with a hold over those in power that can’t be explained. Hopefully, he will be easier to ”kill” off than the real one. I don’t want him to have any hand over choosing our GM and coach. No more Patriots retreads.

Rasputin! Thats good and so on point.
 

Decim8

Veteran
I have nicknamed Easterby ”Rasputin”. Like the original, he has come out of nowhere with a hold over those in power that can’t be explained. Hopefully, he will be easier to ”kill” off than the real one. I don’t want him to have any hand over choosing our GM and coach. No more Patriots retreads.
Amen to that. Give me anyone from Andy reid coaching tree than belichicks
 

JWTexans

Waterboy
If they go for continuity, than you probably couldn't go any better than Greg Roman and Horitz from Baltimore.
If the continuity doesn't come to pass my first pick for GM would be Scott Fitterer. He's been with Seattle since the early 2000s and while in their scouting department he did most of the leg work on Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and a few other very good players. He obviously has an eye for talent, something that is surely missing in this team.
 

Double Barrel

Texans Talk Admin
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I have nicknamed Easterby ”Rasputin”. Like the original, he has come out of nowhere with a hold over those in power that can’t be explained. Hopefully, he will be easier to ”kill” off than the real one. I don’t want him to have any hand over choosing our GM and coach. No more Patriots retreads.
Check this out. National media has the same questions:


Oh, but be careful, because apparently we are "shaping a narrative" with questions about Easterby's qualifications and proximity to Cal's ear.

There appears to be those that seem to believe that Easterby should get a pass, in spite of lying on his resume and bullshit artist M.O. :thinking:
 

Double Barrel

Texans Talk Admin
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Anyone still thinking Easterby is not GM?
Defacto?. . .perhaps. . . :hmmm:

Report: Texans owner is “expected to lean heavily” on Jack Easterby in coaching search

Texans executive V.P. of football operations Jack Easterby emerges from the firing of coach/G.M. Bill O’Brien with considerable power in the organization, even though his hiring for that position never was subject to a diverse search that complied with the Rooney Rule. Now, Easterby will have a major voice in a pair of hires that the Texans eventually make: Coach and General Manager.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Texans owner Cal McNair is “expected to lean heavily” on Easterby for “what’s expected to be a wide-ranging coaching search.” Wilson also reports that Easterby is “expected to be a key figure in guiding the organization through this transition.”

Source
If true, how utterly pathetic of the owners.
 

Double Barrel

Texans Talk Admin
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Does this open the door for Rick Smith to return? His departure was open ended, wasn’t it?
Now THAT is an interesting question. I don't recall him ever being officially fired. He was granted a leave of absence, disappeared for a while and had to deal with his wife's death, and then re-emerged in January 2020 (iirc).

At one point, he was really tight with Cal, so it would not surprise me to see him return as an advisor (like Bob McNair did with Dan Reeves).
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
Check this out. National media has the same questions:


Oh, but be careful, because apparently we are "shaping a narrative" with questions about Easterby's qualifications and proximity to Cal's ear.

There appears to be those that seem to believe that Easterby should get a pass, in spite of lying on his resume and bullshit artist M.O. :thinking:
Lol, just b/c people in the media question it, doesn't mean its not a narrative. The narrative around here for years was that Schaub couldn't audible in Kubiak's system. Nevermind that Schaub dispelled that narrative SEVERAL times on his monday morning radio show.

Easterby having Cal's ear turned out to be a good thing in this regard.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I think the sooner we get a GM in here, the better. I wouldn't be opposed to Rick Smith. He definitely believes in Watson & would be motivated to build around him.

However, he wouldn't be my first choice. Scott Piolli is out there doing TV, so he's available. & there's a slew of personnel guys out there he could contract on a temporary basis.
 

Double Barrel

Texans Talk Admin
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Lol, just b/c people in the media question it, doesn't mean its not a narrative. The narrative around here for years was that Schaub couldn't audible in Kubiak's system. Nevermind that Schaub dispelled that narrative SEVERAL times on his monday morning radio show.

Easterby having Cal's ear turned out to be a good thing in this regard.
lol, dude was caught lying on his resume (which reveals absolutely no qualifications to be a executive vice president of football operations for an NFL team), but yeah, him consolidating power with the owner and having a direct say in the next GM and HC is a "good thing". :ok:

Funny thing about so-called "narratives". Some actually reveal truths.

There are many ways to be objective and analytical without taking sides.
 

IDEXAN

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
Is Nick Caserio really an option even now as I thought that he'd negotiated a new employment contract with the Krafts ?
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
lol, dude was caught lying on his resume (which reveals absolutely no qualifications to be a executive vice president of football operations for an NFL team), but yeah, him consolidating power with the owner and having a direct say in the next GM and HC is a "good thing". :ok:

Funny thing about so-called "narratives". Some actually reveal truths.

There are many ways to be objective and analytical without taking sides.

But in this case, it hasn't really revealed anything other than him being the last man standing in a now lame duck regime that he, on some level helped to shape.....But, he's got a little poop on him too. So if Cal starts to question "why does it still stink in here after we just flushed the toilet?" His nose is likely to lead him to Easterby. So in effect, it can still go against him. In this case, i just think Easterby was the guy to report to Cal how BoB's ill temperment had begun to go beyond is his typical "teapotty-ness" and started to seep into the locker room and overall FO...I mean after all wasn't that his title & within his purview as the"culture" coach?

So really, the only thing Easterby has done is set himself up to be the next guy to fall since in all likelihood all of the other personnel and coaching staff will be outta there as soon as the season is over.

You are right, though there are many ways to be objective and analytical without taking sides..& in your case, viewing every move made as being part of some elaborate plot to "consolidate power" doesn't really fit with who Easterby is supposed to be.
 
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welsh texan

You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one
I have nicknamed Easterby ”Rasputin”. Like the original, he has come out of nowhere with a hold over those in power that can’t be explained. Hopefully, he will be easier to ”kill” off than the real one. I don’t want him to have any hand over choosing our GM and coach. No more Patriots retreads.
I mean he was brought in to oversee the football operations and (about 4 games too late) seems to have opened McNair’s eyes to the shitshow unfolding before him and the root of the problem has been terminated.
At this point it’s a job well done.
The worry is that he is off the Belichick tree and if he holds too much power then the search may be limited to the best obtainable NE personnel. So yeah, it’s important that he doesn’t have too much power, but we don’t yet know that he does.
I actually think the locker room has got this coach gone at this point. The post game media briefing seemed full of veiled allusions to it being O’Brien’s fault.
 

Double Barrel

Texans Talk Admin
Staff member
Contributor's Club
But in this case, it hasn't really revealed anything other than him being the last man standing in a now lame duck regime that he, on some level helped to shape.....yeah, he's got a little poop on him too & if Cal starts to question "why does it still stink in here after we just flushed the toilet?" His nose is likely to lead him to Easterby. So in effect, it can still go against him.

So really, the only thing Easterby has done is set himself up to be the next guy to fall since in all likelihood all of the other personnel and coaching staff will be outta there as soon as the season is over.

You are right, though there are many ways to be objective and analytical without taking sides..& in your case, viewing every move made as being part of some elaborate plot to "consolidate power" doesn't really fit with who Easterby is supposed to be.
I base my evolving perspectives on history and historical trends.

You're right that, at the moment, Easterby is last man standing.

That said, it's already being reported that he's going to play a major role in influencing the decisions by the owners with regards to hiring a GM and HC.

So, my question is why is Easterby beyond criticism, or at least a deep analytical dive into his supposed qualifications?

Please enlighten me with "who Easterby is supposed to be". We have his resume (at least the truthful parts), his history with NFL teams, and a little bit of press.

You appear a lot more confident in Easterby than most fans and media. So please tell me why he's worth your pom poms. <---that's j/k, btw

I'm skeptical by nature. I won't apologize for it. Confidence and trust should be earned. And I'm far from the only one feeling this way about Easterby.

"The only way I’ll be okay with Jack Easterby remaining in the organization is if he hires somebody else to be the genuine general manager. Oversee the culture and all that TED Talk drivel, but don’t let him near a calculator or a DocuSign app." ~ Seth Payne
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
I base my evolving perspectives on history and historical trends.

You're right that, at the moment, Easterby is last man standing.

That said, it's already being reported that he's going to play a major role in influencing the decisions by the owners with regards to hiring a GM and HC.

So, my question is why is Easterby beyond criticism, or at least a deep analytical dive into his supposed qualifications?

Please enlighten me with "who Easterby is supposed to be". We have his resume (at least the truthful parts), his history with NFL teams, and a little bit of press.

You appear a lot more confident in Easterby than most fans and media. So please tell me why he's worth your pom poms. <---that's j/k, btw

I'm skeptical by nature. I won't apologize for it. Confidence and trust should be earned. And I'm far from the only one feeling this way about Easterby.

"The only way I’ll be okay with Jack Easterby remaining in the organization is if he hires somebody else to be the genuine general manager. Oversee the culture and all that TED Talk drivel, but don’t let him near a calculator or a DocuSign app." ~ Seth Payne
Easy, b/c there’s no evidence to suggest that he was ever fully in control and/or fully made decisions on his own while here under BoB....That is if we’re to believe how much of a tyrant BoB was behind the scenes and had been against Rick Smith, then against Gaine, and the cap guy...We already have evidence of this with him and how he kept jerking his OC’s of playcalling. So it’s not too far fetched to believe that he may have been jerking Easterby too in whatever role he had been told he would have when BoB brought him in.

There’s just 1 problem with BoB jerking Easterby. He had Cal and likely the players’ ears.
 

Double Barrel

Texans Talk Admin
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Easy, b/c there’s no evidence to suggest that he was ever fully in control and/or fully made decisions on his own while here under BoB....That is if we’re to believe how much of a tyrant BoB was behind the scenes and had been against Rick Smith, then against Gaine, and the cap guy...We already have evidence of this with him and how he kept jerking his OC’s of playcalling. So it’s not too far fetched to believe that he may have been jerking Easterby too in whatever role he had been told he would have when BoB brought him in.

There’s just 1 problem with BoB jerking Easterby. He had Cal and likely the players’ ears.
Fair enough. It's fun speculating and I do appreciate the conversation with you.

You had a great post in another thread about potential HC candidates. There were some great points and qualified coaches.

I'm just hoping that they are all given fair shots at this job and Easterby is not someone influencing Cal's perception based on his own agendas (whatever they may or may not be).

In the end, you and I want the same thing. :handshake:
 

leebigeztx

Keep it Movin!
I would hire a couple of consultants like Ron Wolf and Bill Polian to analyze the organization from top to bottom. Upon their recommendation for gm, I would let the gm hire the coach. Whomever comes in, they need to bring good coaching with them more important than a singular coach. It seems like guys off that Shanahan tree can develop ol, rb, wr, te,and qbs. Thats why I think its important to bring a coach in where player values can save money. The head coach can be a delegator if he brings in the right coaches. That said, I would let the gm do all of that.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
I think the sooner we get a GM in here, the better. I wouldn't be opposed to Rick Smith. He definitely believes in Watson & would be motivated to build around him.

However, he wouldn't be my first choice. Scott Piolli is out there doing TV, so he's available. & there's a slew of personnel guys out there he could contract on a temporary basis.
This forum would be lite up if they were to bring Smith back.

Scott Piolli would be my first choice as well.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
I figured it would be nice to have some discussion on these things in one place. Here are a few candidates that I would like to see considered, please comment and post your own thoughts

1. Mike Borgonzi, Director of Player Personnel, KC. Mike has been mentored by some of the best evaluators in the business and has extensive knowledge of putting together a winning team. He has experience in systems that fit our offense and has enough connections to be able to put together a legit coaching staff. He would be a first time GM.

2. Elliot Wolf, consultant for NE. At first glance I do not love this. I do not think he has the track record of success that we should be looking for. I do not know as much about him, so please fill me in.

3. Ed Dobbs has a great resume. He was a key cog in the Seattle run and is helping the Colts solidly their team. Rumor has it he is a little gun shy at running his own team, but there is no denying his previous experience As a talent evaluator.

4. Nick Caserio. We all know this guy. I am not a fan of this route.

5. George Paton, Vikings Assistant GM. He has experience, good and bad. He has helped put together a talented Vikings team. He seems patient, looking for a good job offer.

6. John Dorsey (could hire him now, he is unemployed). He has a lot of experience, seems to put together talented teams wherever he goes, but never keeps a job long. Personality issue?

Please add more details and additional options
Dorsey seems to be of the same mold as Bob. My way or the highway.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
If they go for continuity, than you probably couldn't go any better than Greg Roman and Horitz from Baltimore.
If the continuity doesn't come to pass my first pick for GM would be Scott Fitterer. He's been with Seattle since the early 2000s and while in their scouting department he did most of the leg work on Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and a few other very good players. He obviously has an eye for talent, something that is surely missing in this team.
There were several talent evaluators on that team. I'm not so sure how much his contributions were.

I don't really see a visionary on the list of names so far on this thread.
 

OptimisticTexan

2024 / Rebuilding Block 4 After Playoffs / Texans

Texian

Hall of Fame
2. Elliot Wolf, consultant for NE. At first glance I do not love this. I do not think he has the track record of success that we should be looking for. I do not know as much about him, so please fill me in.
I have always subscribed to the hiring children of fathers who were successful coaches or GMs. IE: Belichick father coached at West Point; Saban dad was a successful high school coach, Ron Wolf is a Hall of Fame NFL GM, Peyton Manning has been influenced by the game of football from the day he was born. Very few understand the game as well Belichick, Saba, Manning, Wolf. These people began hanging out on the football field as mere youths at a time when the brain is at peak learning capacity. Based on the dumpster fire at Kirby Dr. Wolf might be your best chance and opportunity. Hard to imagine anyone coming to Houston and having to answer to Easterby. Eliot turned down GM offers for several years. Eliot was on a football field with Dad when he 6 years old and writing scouting reports for his dad to grade when he was 12. Eliot has been in an NFL Draft room for over 30 years and he's only 38. Not to mention the support system he has outside the Houston Texans.
 
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Texian

Hall of Fame
Yeah, should've listened to you. Oops lol. I was completely wrong about him.
Come on, get on the hate train early.
The few things about O'Brien that did not sit well with me, the blow up with Brady on the sidelines, BOB temper proved to be a problem. Kraft and Belichick shipping him off to Penn St right after the incident. Penn St alumni were not sad to see BOB leave Penn St., in fact they welcomed it. O'Brien was never a head coach. Then like now, because of Houston's reputation, no self respecting winning head coach wants anything to do with a dysfunctional front office. Until the McNair problem is fixed it will more of the same in my opinion.
 
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amazing80

Hall of Fame
The few things about O'Brien that did not sit well with me, the blow up with Brady on the sidelines, BOB temper proved to be a problem. Kraft and Belichick shipping him off to Penn St right after the incident. Penn St alumni were not sad to see BOB leave Penn St., in fact they welcomed it. O'Brien was never a head coach. Then like now, because of Houston's reputation, no self respecting winning head coach wants anything to do with a dysfunctional front office. Until the McNair problem is fixed it will more of the same in my opinion.
I disagree with the end conclusion. I believe we can get good people, I just don’t have confidence in our Owners to make the right choice.
 

maverick512000

Hall of Fame
I disagree with the end conclusion. I believe we can get good people, I just don’t have confidence in our Owners to make the right choice.
Agreed, people seem to forget that an NFL HC is one of the rarest jobs in the world. In fact there are only 32 of them at most, seriously there are more openings for NFL QB then there are HC jobs. If you are a career coach then you can never just turn in down without even considering it and, guess what, every franchise has a somewhat dysfunctional front office. Don’t forget even the great Belichick was forced to resign Brady and ship his chosen QB of the future off for peanuts because of ownership.

Some coaches, like Dabo, have a sweet gig already so odds are they wouldn’t take it but I promise they still at least consider it.

To get back on topic I’m not to picky about who they bring in, yes even Smith though for the love of God get someone else to draft rounds 2-7, just as long as they then let that GM hire the HC they want. I’m sick and tired of watching the GM and HC fight and that was a problem that predated OB. One great thing about OB having both jobs is by firing him by default it cleaned house. Something I don’t think the Texans have ever done.
 

Thorn

Dirty Old Man
Hire me as GM. I'll trade every player, coach, office assistant, staff cook and water boy for anything I can get. I'd trade the frigging owner as well. I'd trade their cars, wives, kids and dogs for draft choices if I could.

If you're gonna start over, start over.
 
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