Who Is Jack Easterby, And Why Are The Texans Letting Him Ruin Their Organization?

Jack Easterby may be the most mysterious man in the NFL.

Easterby has a history as a preacher and an author. Now, he has Texans CEO Cal McNair’s ear, and he’s using his power to drive a wedge between ownership and the Texans players. A former team chaplain turned “character coach” in New England, Easterby is now listed as the Houston Texans VP Of Football Operations.

When Bill O’Brien was fired, Easterby took over the day-to-day operations of the team. Effectively going from a glorified motivational speaker, to a leader of an NFL franchise. According to Sports Illustrated, Easterby gave a bizarre speech at the end of the season. The entire talk was centered around Deshaun Watson, and how well he played throughout the year. There was no mention of JJ Watt, who has given his heart and soul to the city of Houston, there was no mention of the direction of the team. None of that. Just Watson. This left many players ticked off, and left Deshaun Watson embarrassed.

After letting Easterby play a big role in the team bringing in Nick Casserio as their next general manager, chaos ensued. Now Deshaun Watson wants out, and wont even answer Cal McNair’s phone calls. Former Texan great Andre Johnson even took to social media to blame Jack Easterby for the entire situation.

If I’m @deshaunwatson I will stand my ground. The Texans organization is known for wasting players careers. Since Jack Easterby has walk into the building nothing good has happened in/for the organization and for some reason someone can’t seem to see what’s going on. Pathetic!!!

— Andre Johnson (@johnson80) January 12, 2021

All of this must have fans thinking, “why is this team so loyal to Easterby?” Why does Cal McNair feel the need to let his preacher friend have his hands all over the organization? Not only that, but McNair continues to laud the efforts of Easterby.

McNair spoke with the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain and said that Easterby had adequately performed the job of interim general manager following the firing of Bill O’Brien on Oct. 5.

“The scrutiny on Jack is really unjustified,” McNair said. “Jack was put into that role the organization needed by me. If missteps were made during that process, we’ll own those within our building. Jack will (return) to the role he was brought here for and what he grew into after he got here.”

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This whole thing has kind of a cult-type feel to me. Why does Cal McNair value this Easterby guy so much? He has minimal background in football, is universally disliked by the players, and his role with the team moving forward seems to be a little murky. What exactly does Jack Easterby do now that Nick Casserio will handle football ops? Make Speeches? Players don’t want to hear them.

Cal McNair has given a chaplain the keys to his castle. He has chosen Jack Easterby over his franchise quarterback. None of it makes any sense, and there is no question that it will end poorly for the Houston Texans.

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