Houston Texans: Jack Easterby Relieved as Vice President of Football Operations

The embattled ex-preacher is no longer in the organization

The Houston Texans are making major news during their bye week when they reportedly moved on from Jack Easterby. Easterby had been in the organization since 2019 and had found a way to advance all the way up to Executive Vice President of Football Operations. Easterby had been the subject of much controversy following the Sports Illustrated expose into his rise to power following Brian Gaine and Bill O’Brien’s dismissals.

Easterby’s time in Houston was definitely rocky to say the least. He came in from New England where he had served as a team chaplain and life coach for the franchise. Numerous players swore by him and he obviously came highly recommended by Bill O’Brien and others that had worked for the Patriots.

Easterby eventually was promoted and given more responsibility as executives and coaches fell by the wayside. Brian Gaine was let go in the hopes of bringing Nick Caserio to Houston. Easterby and the Texans faced a tampering charge and dropped their pursuit of Caserio prior to the 2020 season. Easterby joined new general manager Bill O’Brien in what would turn into a highly criticized partnership.

When O’Brien was fired, Easterby took over as the interim general manager until the club finally settled on Caserio. Of course, his fingerprints were all over that hiring as well. Easterby’s influence could be seen in the Deshaun Watson contract, trades of Deandre Hopkins and J.D. Clowney as well as signings like Whitney Mercilus, Nick Martin, Randall Cobb, and Zach Cunningham.

Obviously, many of us have a hard time rejoicing when anyone gets fired from their job. That being said, Easterby was a very polarizing figure in Houston and a number of fans will be happy with this news. Obviously, this is breaking news from this morning, so few if any details are available to describe how this decision was arrived at or how the organizational structure will change. Naturally, there will be a ton of speculation as to how this will impact major organizational decisions moving forward.

[Ed. Note: Apropos of nothing:]