A Sports Illustrated report has portrayed the Houston Texans as a rudderless franchise, lorded over by an unscrupulous executive whose unprecedented rise to power was marked by ruthless maneuverings.
The newly published report by SI's Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop focuses on the ascent of Texans interim GM Jack Easterby, a pastor who broke into the NFL as a Jaguars intern and later served as Patriots team chaplain and so-called character coach in the wake of the tragic Aaron Hernandez saga.
Easterby, according to the report, made the meteoric and apparently unheard-of jump from team chaplain to personnel executive by underhanded means, quietly working to subvert even his own allies -- such as former Houston head coach and GM Bill O'Brien, who brought Easterby into the Texans organization after his stint in New England -- in a bid to attain ever-more power.
Easterby was named interim GM after O'Brien's dismissal following an 0-4 start on the season.
The Easterby-O'Brien tandem seemed to work well at first, the story said, but things started going sour when Easterby dismissed several popular longtime staffers. Among those dismissed were former player turned player engagement director JJ Moses and PR exec Amy Palcic.
Citing conversations with dozens of unnamed Texans and Patriots sources, including employees and players, the report says the 37-year-old Easterby supposedly pushed for Houston players to practice in violation of league coronavirus rules shortly before the team was affected by an outbreak; advocated for the widely panned trade of superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins; and was suspected of surveilling players and staffers outside team facilities.
In a statement to Sports Illustrated, Easterby said: “Since joining the Texans in 2019 as EVP of Team Development and now as EVP of Football Operations, I have been an integral part of the leadership team. It’s been an honor to help this organization in whatever way I can. I appreciate the confidence shown by Cal and Janice McNair by entrusting me to help see this season through as an interim GM. I place tremendous value on the importance of trust. If there is additional work to be done to gain the trust of others, I am committed to make that happen. I look forward to the leadership our new GM and Head Coach will bring to the Texans as we build this team for the future.”
The report goes on to say that there is a perception within the Texans that Easterby has won over McNair and has consolidated his power within the organization. However, two Texans told SI that 85 percent of the building didn't trust Easterby, while another player said it's more like 90 percent.
The article goes on to explain how Easterby has long possessed the gift of gab and the ability to connect with his "rapt" audiences. His first job in big-time sports came with the South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team, as a character coach under head coach Dave Odom in the mid- and late-aughts.
Easterby's ability to communicate and connect with young people had impressed Odom at a summer camp, Odom said in the SI story.
The executive's credentials came under scrutiny at the national level this fall, when Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk ran a piece calling out an apparent discrepancy on Easterby's resume. A Texans spokesperson dismissed the report as nit-picking over an innocent mistake.
The report said Easterby's own accounts of his job duties have morphed several times in news reports, and his bio pages on the sites of the various teams for which he has worked all seem to list different titles and responsibilities.
Many of Easterby's early-career connections from his days at USC and the summer camp gave glowing reviews, seemingly unprompted and in "strikingly similar language," the story said.
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