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How latest Houston Texans rumors spark an honest conversation worth having

Texans Nick Caserio
Could Nick Caserio leave right after the draft? Composite image by Jack Brame.
How latest Houston Texans rumors spark an honest conversation worth having

Nick Caserio has been the general manager of the Houston Texans for almost three years now. When he came aboard, there was a lot to fix. He moved from a five bedroom six and a half bathroom estate with a guest house, to a fixer upper with tons of potential. In his time on the job rehabbing this house on Kirby, he's made some serious strides. He's also made some missteps. Which is why hearing rumblings and rumors about his eventual exit don't surprise me.

For every David Culley/Lovie Smith, there's a DeMeco Ryans. For every Derek Stingley Jr, there's a Jalen Pitre. For every Rex Burkhead, there's a Dameon Pierce. You get my drift. He's made some bad moves, but has also followed them up with good ones. The Brandin Cooks extension and failing to trade him at last year's deadline was a compound problem. So Stingley Jr didn't turn out to be an All Pro like Sauce Gardner? Who's to say Gardner would've been an All Pro on this defense last season? Kenyon Green was the other first round pick last draft. Some people are looking at him like Stingley Jr and thinking both guys are busts. They may not have panned out the way most wanted, but they've only played one season and have potential.

Failing to secure the number one overall pick in the draft may have hurt his chances as well. Former head coach Lovie Smith evidently ignored the memo to lose that game against the Colts. Now the Panthers have traded with the Bears and appear headed towards taking Bryce Young with the number one overall pick. Young is the consensus top quarterback in this draft. With the Texans in desperate need of a franchise guy at QB, losing out on the prospect they may have coveted could hurt the rebuild a bit. There was no way they would've matched what the Bears got from the Panthers. There's also no reason to panic.

The real deal here falls on ownership and how they feel about Caserio, and vice versa. If Cal, Hannah, and Mrs. McNair all feel he's the last holdover from the previous regime, his missteps are too much to overcome, and they want to give DeMeco a fresher start with a GM he has a better working relationship with, Caserio could very well be on the outs. We remember how his presser went like a couple of months ago when he sounded deflated. It wasn't a good look. Some felt Caserio should've been ousted with Lovie and a complete rebuild taken place from the bottom up.

They could feel as though he's got the ship headed in the right direction. He's only been on the job three years with this coming draft being his second with a full complement of picks. Being one and done with back to back coaches isn't ideal. Giving him a legit shot at making this work with a coach the entire city, organization, and fan base are solidly behind makes sense. The first two coaching hires didn't go as planned. This time, they appear to have nailed it, so far.

Whether you're in the school of thought that Caserio needs to go, or if you feel he needs to finish the story, it's a conversation worth having. Personally, I think he needs to spend at least this season and maybe even one more with DeMeco and his staff to see where things are headed. Then when can see if they're building a contender or not. Caserio has four years left on his deal. DeMeco has six. They aren't completely aligned on contracts and have never worked with one another. I'm interested in seeing where this relationship goes and how they work together. DeMeco holds the power here if you ask me. He's the former franchise great player who's coming home to save the day as a head coach. If he wanted Caserio gone, he could get it done. However, I think DeMeco is the type of guy who'd play nice and find a way to make things work before he flexed his muscle.

I'm not calling for Caserio's job, but it's bleep or get off the pot time. He's got to show a sizable improvement in the way this team competes this coming season. A lot of that falls on DeMeco and his staff. Is it time to move on from Caserio? I say no. What say you?

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The Astros beat the Phillies, 2-1. Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.

Cam Smith hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

The rookie's second hit of the game came off Orion Kerkering (5-3) and gave the Astros their fourth straight win.

Brandon Marsh tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the inning to end the Phillies' 26-inning scoreless streak.

The Astros took a 1-0 lead on Yainer Diaz’s RBI single in the second inning. They only managed three more hits off Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, who struck out 11 with zero walks over six innings. Sanchez has not issued a walk in three straight starts.

Hunter Brown lowered his league best ERA to 1.74 by scattering three singles over seven shutout innings, with nine strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach second base.

Bryan Abreu (3-3) struck out Trea Turner to end the eighth, and then struck out Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos in the ninth.

Abreu joined Julia Morales after the game and talked about his impressive performance!

Rafael Marchán had two of the Phillies' four hits. Bryson Stott reached base twice and scored the Phillies' lone run.

Key moment

Smith’s RBI.

Key stat

Brown’s 1.74 ERA is the fourth best in Astros history through 16 starts and the best since Justin Verlander posted a 1.60 ERA through 16 starts in 2018.

Up next

The Astros open a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday with LHP Brandon Walter (0-1 3.80 ERA) on the mound.

The Phillies open a three-game series at the Braves on Friday with RHP Mick Abel (2-1 3.47 ERA) against Atlanta RHP Bryce Elder (2-4 4.77).

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