Houston Texans make shocking, necessary front office decision
HIT THE ROAD, JACK!
17 October 2022
It's finally happening! Composite image by Jack Brame.
ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that the Texans and executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby are parting ways.
A 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
We've heard rumors this season that Easterby's relationship with the McNair family isn't what it used to be and that his time could soon be up in Houston. The timing of this decision is interesting, though, coming on Monday morning right after the bye week, and the Texans first win of the season. Clearly this wasn't a Friday news dump, the Texans wanted this out there.
Easterby spent three years in Houston becoming infamous for being Bill O'Brien's right-hand man that destroyed the Texans roster and salary cap. The Laremy Tunsil trade, giving Deshaun Watson a massive contract with a no-trade clause, getting fleeced in the DeAndre Hopkins trade are just a few of the franchise killing moves he and Bill O'Brien signed off on. The Texans are still dealing with a massive amount of dead money, even after Nick Caserio's best efforts to clean up the cap and culture in Houston.
Hopefully, the Texans can put this mess behind them and move forward with Nick Caserio and Lovie Smith continuing to turnaround the organization, put a better product on the field, and leave behind the drama.
NFL insiders hint at eye-opening future for Houston Texans offense
Dec 7, 2024, 2:38 pm
One of the nuggets that came out of Nick Caserio's press conference this week, was his thoughts on the job Bobby Slowik has done as an offensive coordinator. When asked if the team has considered sharing the offensive play calling, Caseiro responded with an emphatic, “absolutely not.”
Caserio went on to praise the job Slowik has done this year, and to say the team's struggles in the second half this season is due to execution.
This stance is consistent with what we've heard from Texans insiders that believe Slowik will be back next season. As much as many Texans fans believe a change at OC could help CJ Stroud, who's shown regression this year, it doesn't appear Slowik is going anywhere.
To be fair, most teams aren't looking to replace their coordinators when they're leading their division and marching toward the postseason for the second straight year.
Number crunching
When comparing Stroud's stats to last season, there is a clear dropoff in 2024. But a lot of that has to do with the addition of Joe Mixon, especially when it comes to touchdowns.
Mixon is third in the NFL with 11 rushing TDs, while Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary only combined for 6 over the entire 2023 season. One could argue the passing offense has regressed, but one could also argue the offense overall is more balanced.
Stroud is still Top 5 in passing yards, heading into this week's games. And even if we account for the bye week, Stroud will still be Top 10 after this week's slate of games.
The most concerning number to keep an eye on is sacks. Only one QB has been sacked more than Stroud, who's been sacked 41 times. CJ's protection has gotten better since Juice Scruggs was moved to guard, and Jarrett Patterson was inserted at center.
If Stroud starts getting hit again at a high level, that may be the one factor that could make the front office rethink their plans at coordinator. However, if the Texans do make a change, we expect them to address their o-line coach before any changes at OC.
Be sure to watch the video above for our full breakdown of the Texans offense, the coaching staff, and our thoughts on how the Azeez Al-Shaair suspension will impact the team.
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