When the Houston Texans hired Nick Caserio was general manager, Deshaun Watson not onboard.
After cryptic social media messages and a trade request, it was evident Caserio would have to go from a soft rebuild — one with a starting quarterback in place — to a hard rebuild — one without a starting quarterback and a total gutting of the roster.
The former New England Patriots director of player personnel from 2008-20 knew that he wasn’t going to get any sympathy for the Texans’ hardships; it was simply time to go to work.
“It’s all about finding solutions,” Caserio said. “You take the information, and you can’t change what happened. So, here’s the information, here’s the situation and nobody’s going to make excuses. Nobody is going to bitch and moan about your situation and the circumstances. It’s okay. Let’s deal in real. Let’s deal with it now. Let’s identify the problems. Let’s provide solutions and understand that we are going to have to find ways to fix it and make it work and if that doesn’t work, then turn the page.”
Trading a quarterback your organization signed to a five-year, $177 million contract at the start of the season is uncharted territory, but Caserio knew the Texans would have to be flexible about the circumstances.
Said Caserio: “I think you have to be very flexible. You’ve got to be able to pivot to something different. Maybe the way you thought it was originally going to go, it doesn’t go that way, then you have to be able to adjust and adapt. I think that’s the beauty of the challenge and I think every team deals with that. Every circumstance is different. Every situation is going to be different. Every team is going to have to deal with something and that’s ok. I think that’s where I would say there is some intrigue in that and really you want to try to put something together.”
As the Texans put the Watson ordeal behind them, with the organization possessing three first-round picks in the next three drafts, Caserio remains committed to finding the best solutions for Houston.
“Our job is to try and find solutions to take the next step and move the organization forward and that is my commitment to everybody in our building,” said Caserio. “That is my commitment to the fans and that is my commitment to the organization. That is my commitment to ownership and I’ll be damned if I don’t go down swinging.”
