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Cal McNair: Texans now 'a flatter organization' after changes

When the Texans abruptly fired general manager Brian Gaine in June, they formed a new power structure that divided up his old responsibilities.

Between coach Bill O'Brien, new vice president of team development Jack Easterby, senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen and team president Jamey Rootes, the Texans will operate without a general manager this season.

The Texans unsuccessfully tried to hire highly regarded New England Patriots executive Nick Caserio and briefly faced tampering charges that were dropped after the defending AFC South champions ended their pursuit of Caserio when they were informed that his contract, which expires after the 2020 draft, doesn't allow him to interview for jobs with other NFL teams.

Texans chairman and chief executive officer Cal McNair, in an interview with Sports Radio 610, the flagship station of the team, addressed some of the changes to the leadership structure in general terms Monday night.

"We've been really busy working on that this offseason," said McNair, who didn't specifically address firing Gaine during the interview. "It's a flatter organization with a faster management style. The organization is totally re-energized with a team-based approach and new leadership based on sub programs with each sub program being fully optimized as a goal.

"I know it's a lot, but it's a lot of improvements and we can't wait to get out of the office on the fields and get back to winning football games."

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Addressing the committee approach, McNair expressed confidence that the Texans will be able to operate without a general manager, including executing trades and contract extensions.

"It's kind of funny I've heard on the radio that people are worried about how will people know who to contact for how to make a trade," McNair said. "I promise you people will know who to contact to make a trade. It's not like there's thousands and thousands of people out there. There's 31 other clubs, 32, including us. The guys know who to call and they have in the past.

"They've called different guys in our organization. Someone will get called, if there's an interest. We'll handle that call. We'll have a meeting to talk about extensions. We'll get together as a group. We'll make a plan and then we'll go execute the plan. You'll see that this year."

Since the Texans hired Easterby, the former Patriots character coach and Chiefs team chaplain has become more and more influential within the organization. Easterby advises O'Brien — who pushed for the Texans to hire Easterby — and McNair.

"We're really lucky to have Jack with us," McNair said. "He is executive vice president of team development, so his role is to do whatever it takes to make the organization grow and operate at its absolute peak performance."

Olsen, a former NFL management counsel employee, remains the Texans' primary negotiator. He manages the salary cap and negotiates with agents.

"Chris has been great for us for many years," McNair said. "He's highly respected in the NFL and among the agents. His activities really won't change that much, but he'll have a little more leadership within the football admin. I look forward to working with Chris as I have in the past and will in the future."

McNair emphasized the Texans' facility improvements over the past year, including the addition of a virtual reality video room for players to simulate what they'll see on the field. The Texans also installed a large cold recovery room on the practice field to help players lower their body temperature, redesigned the weight room and installed a swimming pool with a treadmill.

"We're state of the art in a lot of different areas," McNair said.

The Texans went 11-5 last season, losing in the AFC wild-card round to the Indianapolis Colts.

They lost safety Tyrann Mathieu and cornerback Kareem Jackson during free agency, replacing them with Tashaun Gipson and Bradley Roby. The Texans drafted offensive tackles Tytus Howard and Max Scharping and cornerback Lonnie Johnson.

They open the season Sept. 9 at New Orleans.

"Hey, we're defending the AFC South," McNair said. "We're looking forward to getting out on the field. We have a lot of excitement. We've bolstered a lot of areas that we needed to do. We've put a lot of resources behind those and look forward to going out and winning games."