Well fired or resigning Charley Casserly's no longer with the Houston Texans as of today.
My guess on the overall problem with the Texans organization is their are too many "company men" who are seem afraid to really take a position opposite team owner Bob McNair and stick with it. Your response may be "they want to keep their jobs" but I don't think it lead to making good decisions. The result seems to be too much analysis, rather than a mix of gut level "trigger pulling" and analysis. In that case, Reggie Bush or Vince Young would have been a Texan.
But was Casserly fired? This was all fueled by speculation. It may be that Charley just plain wanted out of the GM grind and saw an avenue and took it.
I'll have more on that.
May 11, 2006, 2:57AM
McNair rejects reports that Casserly was fired
By JOHN MCCLAIN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
One of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL became public Wednesday when Charley Casserly resigned as the Texans' general manager to pursue a position as vice president of football operations and development at the league office in New York.
Casserly and Texans owner Bob McNair denied reports he had been fired.
"No, he has not been fired, so you can forget that," McNair said emphatically during a news conference at Reliant Stadium.
Casserly, who will stay on the job until June 1, was angry at reports he was fired.
"Yeah, I am upset about that," he said. "I'm glad that question was asked and Bob answered it. I have not been fired. There's absolutely no truth to it. I could have stayed on but chose not to."
Casserly could have stayed for the last year of his contract. He said the late-season hiring of consultant Dan Reeves behind his back had nothing to do with his decision.
When Art Shell left his job as the NFL's vice president of football operations to return to Oakland as the Raiders' coach, Casserly became interested in the job.
"Charley indicated to me that he would like to pursue some other opportunities and that he has an interest in a position that's open in the league office," McNair said. "I've told Charley that I will support him in every way to secure a position there.
"I've already talked to (NFL executive vice president and chief operating officer) Roger Goodell about it and recommended Charley. I think he would be terrific for the spot."
John Beake has filled Shell's job on an interim basis.
"When I first spoke to Charley about (a contract extension), he made it known to me his interest in the position at the league office," McNair said. "I'm disappointed that Charley won't be with us. I can't thank him enough for all he's done — his loyalty to the organization, his hard work and his contributions."
McNair will wait a week before starting a search for Casserly's replacement. McNair will meet with coach Gary Kubiak before he starts the interview process.
Expect Denver assistant general manager Rick Smith and Green Bay director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie to become the leading candidates.
"I don't foresee any kind of drastic thing," McNair said about a possible front-office restructuring. "Organizations evolve, and as we go forward, we'll look at what our needs are and (find) the best way to organize to take care of those needs.
"This is a big change because Charley's the guy I've been working with all this time. I valued his advice and counsel. He's had a tremendous impact on our organization."
Casserly could have resigned after the season, but he wanted to work with Kubiak to try to repair the damage created by the 2-14 campaign.
"You leave either in December, or you leave in May after the draft," Casserly said. "I didn't feel comfortable leaving at the end of a 2-14 season.
"I thought Gary was a tremendous hire. I wanted to go through free agency and the draft working with him. I enjoyed my time with him. I thought we had a productive offseason, and I think this team's headed in the right direction.
"I don't know that anybody in the league had a better offseason than we did."
Casserly and Kubiak developed a good relationship.
"I hate to see Charley go," Kubiak said. "I worked well with him. I have tremendous respect for him. We had four good months together, and I'm sorry it's not going to be more. I learned a great deal from him.
"This has been a tough day, but I realize this is a business and that we have to move on."
After 29 years with the Washington Redskins and Texans, Casserly said he's not interested in another general manager's job right now.
"This was a difficult decision, but it's a decision that I made based on the things I want to do at this point in my life," he said. "I've enjoyed my time in Houston. I've enjoyed the relationships, especially with the staff.
"I think we have a tremendous staff here. I think anybody that comes in and wants to make any changes is making a huge mistake."
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