Jack Easterby

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Jack Easterby
refer to caption
Easterby in 2016
Houston Texans
Position:Executive Vice President of Football Operations
Personal information
Born:Columbia, South Carolina
Career information
High school:A.C. Flora High School
College:Newberry College
Career history
As an executive:

Jack Easterby (born 1982 or 1983) is an American football executive who is the executive vice president of football operations for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Prior to joining the Texans in 2019, he served chaplain and character coaching roles.

Education and early career[]

A Columbia, South Carolina native, Easterby lettered in basketball and golf at A.C. Flora High School and Newberry College and studied theology at Erskine College and Liberty University.[1] He served as an operations intern with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the summer of 2004.[2]

In 2005, while working as an academic tutor at the University of South Carolina, Easterby was hired by Dave Odom to serve as the "character coach" of Gamecocks men's basketball team, and worked extensively with Dawn Staley and the women's team.[3]

After leaving South Carolina, Easterby served the Kansas City Chiefs as chaplain, where he ministered to the team following the murder-suicide of Jovan Belcher. Placekicker Ryan Succop, who attended South Carolina when Easterby was there, recommended him to Scott Pioli for the position.[4]

Easterby was hired by the New England Patriots in 2013, in part to deal with the Aaron Hernandez crisis. Throughout his tenure, he was the only man in the league to hold a paid position of character development coach. He described his work as "to serve the players mentally, physically and help them as people”.[5] He also helped the team with draft evaluations, helped orient new players, and held Bible studies and religious services. He grew close to head coach Bill Belichick as well as the players and was a major part of their football operations staff.[3]

Houston Texans[]

Represented by agent Bob LaMonte, Easterby desired to serve in a player personnel capacity in the NFL. He was hired by the Houston Texans in April, 2019, after they outbid the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins for his services.[6] Several members of the Patriots organization were reportedly furious and felt betrayed at Easterby's departure.[7] He soon forged a close relationship with the owner's son and CEO Cal McNair and, just two months into his tenure, he reportedly played a role in the dismissal of General Manager Brian Gaine.[8] Houston Chronicle sportswriter Brian T. Smith described Easterby as being involved in "Everything. Personnel. Planning. Player pep talks. Daily life conversations, media-access issues and the general, overall state of the Texans."[9] He, along with coach and general manager Bill O'Brien, worked to overhaul the roster, with Easterby handling the contract negotiations.[10]

On January 28, 2020, Easterby was put in charge of football operations, handling "everything from team logistics to salary cap management to sport science, equipment, video, player development and security for football operations." He reportedly was a force behind the trade of wideout DeAndre Hopkins, saying “we need to move on from that person.”[3] After O'Brien was fired on October 5, 2020, Easterby assumed the GM role on an interim basis,[10] continuing until Nick Caserio, with whom he shares an agent, was hired. Despite official denials from the team, Easterby reportedly played a key role in the recruitment of Caserio, effectively reneging on the team's promise to consider Watson's input during the search for the next general manager and head coach.[11]

A critical Sports Illustrated cover story by Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop thrust Easterby into the national spotlight. Easterby responded to the story by reportedly telling Texans employees that he threatened to sue Sports Illustrated for defamation and had obtained a list of SI's sources for the story. Easterby also reportedly blamed the Kraft family, his former employers with the Patriots, for his negative press. The owner's son and CEO Cal McNair continues to support Easterby, and says that he will continue to manage the non-business side of the Texans' football operations.[11]

Personal life[]

The son of Jimmy and Betsy Easterby, Jack Easterby is married to Holly, and has two daughters.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Nickles, Lynn (September 2018). "Made in Cola Town: Jack Easterby". Columbia Metropolitan. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  2. ^ Florio, Mike (October 5, 2020). "A question emerges about Jack Easterby's NFL biography". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Vrentes, Jenny and Bishop, Greg (December 10, 2020). "Jack Easterby's Rise to Power and the Chaos That Followed". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 2, 2021.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Wickersham, Seth (January 30, 2015). "Love in the Time of Deflategate". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  5. ^ Bezjak, Lou (February 3, 2018). "Columbia SC native Jack Easterby playing big role with New England Patriots". The State. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  6. ^ McClain, John (June 10, 2019). "How Jack Easterby's influence is growing with Texans". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Bedard, Greg (June 18, 2019). "Why the Patriots are burning mad at Jack Easterby and the Texans". Boston Sports Journal. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  8. ^ Breer, Albert (June 10, 2019). "After Firing GM Brian Gaine, Where Do the Texans Go From Here?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Smith, Brian T. (September 6, 2019). "Jack Easterby is (not so secretly) changing the Texans". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Texans owner: Jack Easterby is interim GM, team will hire new GM and coach". The Athletic. October 7, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Vrentes, Jenny and Bishop, Greg (January 16, 2021). "How Jack Easterby Held on, and Why Deshaun Watson Might Slip Away From the Texans". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 2, 2021.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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