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Welcome to Houston Jack Easterby

thunderkyss said:
Does he want to be GM? Everything points to McNair needing a guy & asking Easterby to fill in. Easterby is just doing what you or I would. Well, I would. No extra pay. Just more sht to do. But boss asked.
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that’s exactly what it is. Cal in his initial statement said that he would go back to his position as soon as the new GM was brought in and that Easterby would not be the GM. He even went so far as to say that the GM would dictate what Easterby did I believe.
 
Mr teX said:
Your opinion, but it’s not rooted in any kind of empirical evidence at all considering none of it guarantees or is sure fire proof that he could do the job that he was tapped for out the gate any better than someone with none of that 1st hand knowledge....or a lot of it. And as we’ve seen, guys with all that experience working their way up the ladder flame out just as fast and spectacularly. Ryan Grigson, Phil Savage...Brian Gaine. The job isn’t a job where that knowledge is only attainable a certain way.

People here LOVED Morey as a GM. Dude was in effect a numbers cruncher before the Celtics and had little to no “1st hand knowledge” of player development.

I’m just not in the business of assuming a guy knows what he’s doing b/c he played the game on that level well and he’s “well spoken”. But I’ve got no problem with Lynch where he is, but the experience argument is lame when there are lots of guys in FO executive positions who didn’t really have a whole lot experience before they took over.
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Cool.
 
Mollywhopper said:
What at all really has Easterby ever done to warrant his position?
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He's basically nobody right now. Trade deadline come & gone. He's filling out the practice squad with whatever warm body he can find.

The position he's in right now is like the Vice President. No real power, just a place holder.

Anything happens that needs a real GM (can't imagine what that would be at this time) he's going to kick it upstairs & do what Cal tells him to do.

He's probably the only yes man left in the building who Cal feels he can bully.

The only thing he's done to warrant the position was say, "yes boss. I'll do it."
 
texanhead08 said:
I have zero respect for these types who get hired by individuals and throw them under the bus the first chance they get to gain more power. Easterby pulled this move and so did Rick Smith. I don't want to see either of them employed by the Texans.
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Cal hired Easterby, not BO'b. We assumed it was because BO'b wanted him here, but there's nothing really to support that.

Instead it looks more like Cal wanting to be like Kraft. If Casserio becomes our GM, I'll be convinced that's what it was/is.
 
thunderkyss said:
Cal hired Easterby, not BO'b. We assumed it was because BO'b wanted him here, but there's nothing really to support that.

Instead it looks more like Cal wanting to be like Kraft. If Casserio becomes our GM, I'll be convinced that's what it was/is.
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I don't mind him as GM. Cal already got tampering charges for him. And his new deal says he can leave at anytime...

On Easterby...well read this

www.google.com

The Truth Behind the NFL's Most Polarizing Executive

From famed character coach in the Patriots' dynasty to the top of the chaotic Texans: Who is Jack Easterby?
www.google.com www.google.com
 
Mollywhopper said:
Can't imagine comparing John Lynch's knowledge of nfl personnel with Jack Easterby.
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Well, before he became sports media's whipping boy it was reported

Jack Easterby, the team’s “character coach” and one of Bill Belichick’s closest confidants, is leaving after six seasons, multiple league sources confirmed.
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Easterby worked behind the scenes in Foxborough with the title of “character coach/team development,” and he became a crucial voice for Belichick in the personnel department.
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Easterby’s main responsibility was to establish and set the team’s culture, but he was a jack-of-all-trades. He became a part of Belichick’s inner circle and one of the most important executives in the building, on a par with director of player personnel Nick Caserio.
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I know the story is different now. But that's the media for you.

I'm not saying Easterby is qualified to be GM, or even "GM for now" but to say he's not qualified to be McNair's mouthpiece is ridiculous.
 
thunderkyss said:
Well, before he became sports media's whipping boy it was reported

I know the story is different now. But that's the media for you.

I'm not saying Easterby is qualified to be GM, or even "GM for now" but to say he's not qualified to be McNair's mouthpiece is ridiculous.
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I don't know what you mean by 'McNair's mouthpiece', but the whole issue has plainly been about his involvement in football operations. Actual personnel issues. Even the guy you quoted for reference said he's absolutely not an nfl personnel man.

He's qualified to be a camp counselor, nobody has disputed that. But the defense of calling his nfl high end executive credentials into question is kinda silly at minimum.
 
thunderkyss said:
this thing about Easterby is being blown way out of proportion.
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If he’s created an environment that has everyone walking on eggshells, is it being blown out of proportion? I don’t care what his credentials or qualifications are, it sounds like the dude isn’t trusted by nearly everyone in the building and it sounds like there’s a fear of being escorted out of the building if you breathe the wrong way. Sounds pretty toxic to me.
 
Speedy said:
If he’s created an environment that has everyone walking on eggshells, is it being blown out of proportion? I don’t care what his credentials or qualifications are, it sounds like the dude isn’t trusted by nearly everyone in the building and it sounds like there’s a fear of being escorted out of the building if you breathe the wrong way. Sounds pretty toxic to me.
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Cal brought him in to fix a toxic culture. Yes, people should be walking on eggshells. Cal was not happy with the culture. Cal brought him in to fix the culture. The backstabbing & what not was going on before Easterby came in.

Bottom line. Let's imagine you are not an idiot & you talked to this guy & felt he was a good fit for your organization to fix a problem you knew you had.

You've worked with the guy for a little more than a year. Still, you are not an idiot & you promote him (not to GM, he got another promotion before that).

Now some people who have no business being in your business, never talked to or worked with the man are telling you how to run your business.

Why? Do they all of a sudden feel empowered because you've let your players run the asylum & now they want their 2 cents?

If it were me, all this would make .e want to double down. Which is what Cal did with the letter he sent to SI.
 
thunderkyss said:
Cal brought him in to fix a toxic culture. Yes, people should be walking on eggshells. Cal was not happy with the culture. Cal brought him in to fix the culture. The backstabbing & what not was going on before Easterby came in.

Bottom line. Let's imagine you are not an idiot & you talked to this guy & felt he was a good fit for your organization to fix a problem you knew you had.

You've worked with the guy for a little more than a year. Still, you are not an idiot & you promote him (not to GM, he got another promotion before that).

Now some people who have no business being in your business, never talked to or worked with the man are telling you how to run your business.

Why? Do they all of a sudden feel empowered because you've let your players run the asylum & now they want their 2 cents?

If it were me, all this would make .e want to double down. Which is what Cal did with the letter he sent to SI.
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If you want to talk moving on from the toxic culture that was Bill O’Brien, I’ve got no issues. But when you go on getting rid of employees that do an exemplary job, Chris Olsen, Amy Palcic, DeAndre Hopkins, etc, trying to tell me that’s a toxic culture, and now there’s allegations, or at least beliefs from people that they’re being tailed, you tell me about the culture and who’s toxic.

I get coming in and wanting to make your mark with your own people. Just do that if that’s the case. Seems like there’s a lot of sneakery (just made that up), and throwing people under the bus going on looking at it from the outside.
 
Speedy said:
Seems like there’s a lot of sneakery (just made that up), and throwing people under the bus going on looking at it from the outside.
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I hear you. & if I thought Easterby was behind it all, I'd probably agree with you.

But it seems like it is Cal becoming.


71x-KTeCBpL._AC_SX522_.jpg
 
Easterby's initial role was probably more of the Texans wanting their organization to have a certain type of culture first and secondly to somewhat model the Patriots. The Texans more than likely had to give him a title that would be a promotion in order to lure him away from the Patriots. His value to the organization solely rests with the McNairs and currently they are ok with his performance. All the talk about qualifications, etc mean nothing as people get jobs/positions all the time seemingly not having the best credentials for the position. Read articles on him prior to his Texans hire and they are filled with how everyone valued and spoke highly of him. He has been involved with coaches, players, execs, scouts/drafts (probably not evaluating talent but to assess the character). At the same time you will learn things as you go. Remember nothing happens without Cal's approval and it looks like it aligns with whatever Easterby is feeding him. Right now it's just awkward timing and the roles will be sorted out once the GM and HC are hired. Easterby got promoted the same time as OB and the fact that the Texans are shelling out $$$ to management who are no longer with the team seems like a big reason Easterby is holding a lot of cards right now. To be clear, I don't think he should be the EVP of Football operations. With the heat the Texans are taking, I wonder if they are willing to eat another salary?
 
thunderkyss said:
I hear you. & if I thought Easterby was behind it all, I'd probably agree with you.

But it seems like it is Cal becoming.


71x-KTeCBpL._AC_SX522_.jpg
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Nice Red Dragon reference. Good movie, but much better book. And I agree that Cal is doing much more than anyone thinks he is. I think he was 100% behind getting rid of Hopkins. That's just for starters. As a coach, OB knew he had a great WR. Even if he was not a fan or wanted to be a better running team...I don't think he would get rid of the 1 sure WR he had. Not to mention the fact that Hopkins is not just a sure WR, but also a to 5 WR in the league. Easterby is just a person who can be blamed along with OB.
 
My $4 worth. IMHO the SI and Profootballtalk pieces were coordinated character assassination efforts. This is all political. This is retribution by a couple of left wing media companies for the firing of Amy Palcic. Palcic is a strong vocal supporter of Joe Biden. It's no secret the McNair's are conservatives. Palcic bringing her strong vocal support of liberalism and Joe Biden into the office was her undoing and reasons for her dismissal from Texans. Mike Florio and Peter King both known liberals and who both work for the liberal NBC took exception to the reasons for the Palcic firing and decided to exact their revenge on Jack Easterby who was blamed and held responsible for her exit.

When you have finished reviewing both hit pieces you ask what was the news here. There really isn't. Maybe a few facts thrown in with a lot of supposition, conjecture and innuendo. What was the purpose or reason for the pieces? To label Jack Easterby as a really bad, conniving, back stabbing individual. That's all, mission accomplished.

That said, to be clear, I am no fan of Jack Easterby and think the Texans would be much better off without him. I don't think anything will come of this because the directive to get rid of Amy Palcic probably came directly from the McNairs or a minimum of their signed off approval.
 
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The reason that this is a story is due to the results on the football field. If the Texans were winning, this would be non-story. Instead, a perennial playoff team is in the midst of a crash and burn. Several top level people in the organization are gone. And a former "character" coach sits atop of the ruins that are left. Many fans have been looking for answers.

The Texans organization has been notoriously tight lipped regarding their inner workings, while bullying the local media into silence. But, they can't bully Sports Illustrated. An extremely in depth job of reporting has answered some of the questions and asked even more. As a fan, I'm grateful they took the time to look into this unmitigated disaster. Something smells rotten on Kirby. Unless this stink is fully aired out, this franchise will remain a laughing stock.
 
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Speedy said:
If you want to talk moving on from the toxic culture that was Bill O’Brien, I’ve got no issues. But when you go on getting rid of employees that do an exemplary job, Chris Olsen, Amy Palcic, DeAndre Hopkins, etc, trying to tell me that’s a toxic culture, and now there’s allegations, or at least beliefs from people that they’re being tailed, you tell me about the culture and who’s toxic.

I get coming in and wanting to make your mark with your own people. Just do that if that’s the case. Seems like there’s a lot of sneakery (just made that up), and throwing people under the bus going on looking at it from the outside.
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Gaine and Olsen were fired within 6 months of each other and in Gaine’s case in particular Easterby had only been here 2 months before he was let go. He was also fired within weeks of that security officer filing his lawsuit....for racial discrimination; you could call that a culture issue and would’ve been within Easterby’s purvue as the VP of team development to resolve. Now, The Texans came out and said that his firing had nothing to do with that, but I don’t quite buy it. I think they were doing Gaine a solid so that he’d be able to get another gig quickly and This is why Gaine’s been quiet about it all. we also never heard about that lawsuit ever again after that either. Does anyone know if it was thrown out or the FO settled?

The second thing is The cap guy for the Texans now was also here then and had been here for like 2-3 years. He had also been doing some of if not a lot of the same things Olsen was doing and this made Olsen somewhat expendable. But when Gaine was fired Olsen became the interim GM and upon Olsen being fired, It was reported that BoB and Olsen had been butting heads a lot as well....who knows why, but Again this could be considered another culture problem well in the purvue of Easterby’s job at the time.

Me thinks that Cal started purging guys back then that he saw as obstructionists to whatever BoB said he was trying to do with the team. In doing so he made a play for Caserio on Easterby’s word that Caserio was interested. But when that backfired, rather than rush out and hire someone, he decided to lay it all at BoB’s feet with the understanding that it was his show and if **** went sideways it was gonna be his ass and he’d have no one else to blame.
 
Lucky said:
The reason that this is a story is due to the results on the football field. If the Texans were winning, this would be non-story. Instead, a perennial playoff team is in the midst of a crash and burn. Several top level people in the organization are gone. And a former "character" coach sits atop of the ruins that are left. Many fans have been looking for answers.

The Texans organization has been notoriously tight lipped regarding their inner workings, while bullying the local media into silence. But, they can't bully Sports Illustrated. An extremely in depth job of reporting has answered some of the questions and asked even more. As a fan, I'm grateful they took the time to look into this unmitigated disaster. Something smells rotten on Kirby. Unless this stink is fully aired out, this franchise will remain a laughing stock.
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it didn’t answer anything at all. It basically parroted the same drivel the local sports media does, with literally about as much “evidence”. But b/c it’s SI, folks have bought in more b/c it seems more credible coming from them.
 
Mr teX said:
e was also fired within weeks of that security officer filing his lawsuit....for racial discrimination; you could call that a culture issue and would’ve been within Easterby’s purvue as the VP of team development to resolve. Now, The Texans came out and said that his firing had nothing to do with that, but I don’t quite buy it.
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Mr teX said:
But b/c it’s SI, folks have bought in more b/c it seems more credible coming from them.
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You admit yourself that the Texans lie to their fans and the media. So sure, SI does have more credibility.
 
Mr teX said:
Ocean’s Razor is a principle based on philosophy..not a law of the universe based on fact and is literally disproven a million times over ever single day.
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It's merely a fancy way of explaining that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. It's a problem solving principle that has been championed by great minds like Isaac Newton and Bertrand Russell.

And unless you can provide a logical reason why Easterby is the subject of an intense focus of 40+ sources and multiple national media outlets, I don't see how you can ascertain anything reasonable beyond the simple explanation.

But, please, continue with the complicated and unsubstantiated conspiracies against little ol' Jack Easterby, as it is much more entertaining and amusing than the simple explanation that he's a power-hungry con man.

:spin:

KoolAid Sipper said:
The Texans more than likely had to give him a title that would be a promotion in order to lure him away from the Patriots.
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Incorrect. He quit the Patriots because of the Kraft scandal.

"Patriots owner Robert Kraft's charges for soliciting prostitution didn't sit well with Easterby and played a role in his decision to part ways with the team." Source

Texian said:
My $4 worth. IMHO the SI and Profootballtalk pieces were coordinated character assassination efforts. This is all political.
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LMAO!!!! :spit:

Here we go with the vast conspiracy theories again. Yet no "character assassination" of the two men that actually fired Amy. Not even ONE single attempt at the characters Cal or Jamey Rootes mentioned in the article. What a terrible conspiracy theory. Worse than the fake moon landing.
 
Double Barrel said:
Incorrect. He quit the Patriots because of the Kraft scandal.

"Patriots owner Robert Kraft's charges for soliciting prostitution didn't sit well with Easterby and played a role in his decision to part ways with the team." Source
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I think that played a part but not all of the reason why. I've seen articles stating he didn't like the Kraft scandal and others stating he wanted more opportunity. His disdain for the scandal didn't keep him from attending the Patriots ring ceremony at Kraft's house. Either way it's all messy and needs to go away...
 
KoolAid Sipper said:
I think that played a part but not all of the reason why. I've seen articles stating he didn't like the Kraft scandal and others stating he wanted more opportunity. His disdain for the scandal didn't keep him from attending the Patriots ring ceremony at Kraft's house. Either way it's all messy and needs to go away...
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I understand. I was just addressing the part about the Texans luring him away. He was already on his way out. They were not offering him a renewal contract (even though he's claimed they were offering him a "lifetime contract" lol).

Dude is a professional incubus. He was going to latch on to whatever pro team would take him, imo.
 
Double Barrel said:
It's merely a fancy way of explaining that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. It's a problem solving principle that has been championed by great minds like Isaac Newton and Bertrand Russell.

And unless you can provide a logical reason why Easterby is the subject of an intense focus of 40+ sources and multiple national media outlets, I don't see how you can ascertain anything reasonable beyond the simple explanation.

But, please, continue with the complicated and unsubstantiated conspiracies against little ol' Jack Easterby, as it is much more entertaining and amusing than the simple explanation that he's a power-hungry con man.

:spin:



Incorrect. He quit the Patriots because of the Kraft scandal.

"Patriots owner Robert Kraft's charges for soliciting prostitution didn't sit well with Easterby and played a role in his decision to part ways with the team." Source



LMAO!!!! :spit:

Here we go with the vast conspiracy theories again. Yet no "character assassination" of the two men that actually fired Amy. Not even ONE single attempt at the characters Cal or Jamey Rootes mentioned in the article. What a terrible conspiracy theory. Worse than the fake moon landing.
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when u understand that all the nonsense being spewed about this dude is 99% unsubstantiated and not any more credible than them tapping me as an unnamed source to **** on him, then you’ll be able to comprehend. Just b/c some unnamed sources are too chicken **** to go on the record with their complaints about “lil ol’ Jacky” doesn’t mean that their OPINION all of a sudden garners more cred, no matter what pit bull is writing the article.

Sorry that’s just too hard for you to accept.

and this isn’t even an endorsement of the guy for anything so much as it is a resistance to being spoon fed a narrative. I’ve never seen so much crying from the national media regarding the Texans. Mike Florio has written and commented on this so much, you’d think he was the Texans’ beat writer. He’s CLEARLY in deep with this b/c his gal endured “the worst day of her life”.

so great use your Occam Razor and be merry. But make no mistake, this was definitely a hit piece. An unnecessary 7000 word one that when combined with the local media eating it up like jello was designed to force Cal’s hand to fire the guy as retribution for poor Amy.

They count on guys like you. Just remember those same clowns in the media and local radio were the same ones pumping up the BoB hire 6 years ago and the Easterby one 2 years ago.
 
Double Barrel said:
LMAO!!!! :spit:

Here we go with the vast conspiracy theories again. Yet no "character assassination" of the two men that actually fired Amy. Not even ONE single attempt at the characters Cal or Jamey Rootes mentioned in the article. What a terrible conspiracy theory. Worse than the fake moon landing.
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When the news first broke it was reported that Easterby was responsible. It was several days later before Rootes entered the picture. Then there are reports that Palcic told friends in the media that Easterby was behind her dismissal for not being a cultural fit. Why the media went directly after Easterby. Regardless of who carried out the firing I believe the decision came directly from the McNairs.
 
Double Barrel said:
And unless you can provide a logical reason why Easterby is the subject of an intense focus of 40+ sources and multiple national media outlets, I don't see how you can ascertain anything reasonable beyond the simple explanation.
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The simple explanation that BO’b is an as whole. Easterby didn’t need to tell you, me, or Cal McNair that. Nor did anyone need to tell Cal O’Brien wasn’t a very good coach.

But dad hired him, dad saw something, so Cal gave him rope.

Simple enough
 
thunderkyss said:
The simple explanation that BO’b is an as whole. Easterby didn’t need to tell you, me, or Cal McNair that. Nor did anyone need to tell Cal O’Brien wasn’t a very good coach.

But dad hired him, dad saw something, so Cal gave him rope.

Simple enough
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apparently logic is when enough people say something then it must be true b/c the simplest explanation is that they said it and why would they say it?
 
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Lucky said:
The reason that this is a story is due to the results on the football field. If the Texans were winning, this would be non-story.
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Are the results of the product on the field not partly because of Easterby? Sure, if they were about to clinch a division in week 14, maybe no one would care, but they're 4-8 and that dude is at least partly responsible for what's out there now, and the lack of resources to do much about it the next year or two, at the very least.

And let's not forget one of the first acts this dude did when he got here was nearly get a tampering charge thrown on the organization. I mean, after axing Gaine, of course. So I guess his second act.

Sure, Cal signs off on a all of it, and hell, maybe he has Janice's ear as much as he has Cal's or more, who knows? I just know somebody made O'Brien the GM, then fired him 4 games later. I forget, who's GM reign was longer, Gaine's or OB's?
 
SnakeEyes said:
Ummm...is this true or a feeling? Easterby having player watched and many of them uneasy...

www.google.com

Texans players feared they were being 'followed by someone representing the team'

This bizarre, intrusive style of leadership seems to come from Jack Easterby, the longtime character coach for the Patriots who was named the executive vice president of football operations for the Texans earlier this year.
www.google.com www.google.com
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well how are you going to know if players are being good and going directly home and staying there unless you follow them and it helps to keep an eye on them During the night.

And if anyone is going to follow Texans players it should be our defensive backs so they can learn how to cover.

I think Easterby is doing the team a favor.
 
Early in my career, I was the manager for a team responsible for administering life-saving therapies for heart failure patients. We had to be run and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week rain, sleet or snow. The job was a promotion from within so when I took over, everyone on the team I’d been working alongside with for a number of years prior. When I took over though, I had some ideas about how I wanted to change things and while they weren’t what you would call radical, they were very different from how our previous managers had done them. In trying to implement these changes, I encountered resistance and in some instances outright insubordination and sabotage, to where I had to write up a few people...some of which were my best guys.

In the midst of all this a neighboring competitor was developing a similar team as ours to help with their heart failure patients and more than a few of my guys were effectively poached to go there by other already gone or outgoing staff. Finding myself in a pinch with trying to keep enough staff to keep my own service going, I found myself having to approach a few of those who had already put in their notices and effectively relieved them of their duties immediately. Why? B/c as long as they were there, I could not hire anyone else to replace them; HR, payroll thing & we had limited positions.

A found out some time later a few of those people thought that I’d effectively fired them and thought it was unprofessional and rude and held a grudge against me for it......even though I explained to them WHY I had to go ahead and let them go; b/c I had to open up the position. Needless to say there were also some still on my team who felt like they should’ve been considered for the manager gig before me. 1 guy whom I’d had to write up several times over the course of my tenure in the position complained to my boss that I’d essentially been “targeting” him. Needless to say, my boss knew better and largely ignored him on that account.

fast forward 5 years later, the service was stable and thriving and we were fully staffed again...but I was finally ready to leave. So chose to do another internal transfer to another, better paying job within the hospital. I had a 5 person interview with directors and managers in the department I was being considered for. Now, Im sure if they’d wanted, they could’ve easily reached out to my former boss and the staff member I’d written up and put on probation as well as a few other current and former staffers by this point to get their thoughts on me. And I’m sure they would’ve come back with a mixed enough bag of responses to question whether or not I was a good fit or at the very least “what’s going on here” type thing. This, Even though my record was clean from a disciplinary standpoint & I had a good rep amongst most people who’d worked for and with me and Despite how some of the actions that I’d taken in my tenure were looked at by a few...including some doctors.

Thankfully they didn’t and I didn’t have to field B.S. questions about some of the **** that happened during my tenure in the position. What’s more is i’m also thankful that my situation wasn’t so high profile that I could’ve had some blowhard journalist investigating every damn interaction I had with everyone at my previous places of employment looking for dirt.....but that is the situation Easterby has found himself in & why I’m looking at all this with suspicion...or as some put it “endorsing wild conspiracy theories”.

No matter the field, You’re not going to have favorable interactions with everyone you’ve worked with & not everyone is gonna buy what you’re selling. And I guarantee Some folks you probably thought you were good with, think something about you that you wouldn’t quite characterize yourself as. Easterby just has the unfortunate luck of having his aired publicly by people too chicken **** to even put their name on their statements so that his boss can fire him.....**** is hella weak...& soft I might add.
 
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