Early Monday morning, executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby was relieved of his duties by the Houston Texans. This news comes after a tumultuous four years with the organization that included a public spat with former franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson and a Sports Illustrated piece that questioned Easterby’s role in the club.
Buy Texans TicketsA significant shakeup in Houston: Texans are parting ways with their executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby, sources tell ESPN. Houston hired Easterby in 2019 and he had a major voice in the organization.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 17, 2022
Easterby joined the Texans in 2019 after serving for many years as a character coach with the New England Patriots. After the firing of former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, Easterby was elevated to the title of vice president of football operations and had a clear hand in personnel decisions during his tenure. Infamously, he helped to negotiate the Watson extension with the no-trade clause that made the Cleveland trade so difficult this past spring for general manager Nick Caserio.
Some had speculated how long Easterby might last after signs of meddling, particularly in their interest with former quarterback Josh McCown, in the team and it would appear that CEO Cal McNair had finally had enough of his presence in the building. Many in the Houston media are reporting, beyond the previously documented conflict, that Easterby served as a large source of leaks to the media.
Easterby spent too much time leaking Texans stories to his favorites in the media, which earned him a lot of enemies. Then he denied leaking stories to the McNair family. Good riddance!
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) October 17, 2022
Many fans will be relieved that the team will now be able to move forward from the franchise’s darkest hour in full earnest. The move also further represents a commitment to advancing back to respectability that has been spearheaded by McNair. It’s now fully up to Caserio and head coach Lovie Smith to move on from Easterby’s large print on the team.
Genuinely stunned that Jack Easterby was fired. After two consecutive coaching cycle flops, in which he clearly played a heavy hand, all but assumed his job was untouchable.
Huge play for the organization moving forward for regaining respectability/normalcy #WeAreTexans
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) October 17, 2022
