Houston Texans: Three thoughts reflecting on the firing of Brian Gaine

[caption id="attachment_63549" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Former Houston Texans GM Brian Gaine (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)[/caption]rn It has been about three weeks since the Houston Texans fired Brian Gaine as their general manager. Here's a reflection in regard to the decision made. rnAfter only two offseasons of service for the Houston Texans , Brian Gaine was relieved of his duties in a relatively unexpected fashion considering the contract he was given.rnrn Was I shocked so hard that I fainted to the floor with my head on my forehead? rnrn No. rnrn Was I so shocked that I completely dropped my task at hand to call everybody I knew to let them know that the Texans are in search of a new GM? rnrn No. rnrnThe reason I didn't write an article right away was that I was curious to see how this situation might play out for a few weeks after.rnrnAt this point, I think I have a good few points to mention and I hope I can somewhat organize them to make them understandable to you because honestly they make less sense in my head the more I think about them.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Thought%20%231%3A%20My%20reaction%20to%20the%20news%20of%20Gaine%20being%20fired" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_65516" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Former Houston Texans GM Brian Gaine (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)[/caption]rn Thought #1: My reaction to the news of Gaine being fired rnWe should've seen this coming honestly looking at how this offseason is going. I would like to think the Houston Texans would've given Gaine another crack at it considering his success during his first offseason; however, I guess the Houston Texans didn't feel that way. Why? No clue.rnrnBut if there's one thing I understand it's this:rnrn Issues before offseason: Secondary and O-Line. Clowney no contract. rnrn Issues after offseason: Secondary and O-Line. Clowney no contract. rnrnThey made moves. But were they good? I hope so, because it's all I can infer at this point without the season playing out. I can't say for sure if their transactions will be for the better or for worse but they were done. Gaine's actions certainly weren't enough for me to conclude that the offensive line or secondary are no longer issues.rnrnOne of the main attributes I used to back up about this team was their front office but on the rare occasion that I'd actually speak out about it, I'd just shrug my shoulders and tell myself that they probably know more than us rabid fans do.rnrn I honestly can't say that for sure at this point. If Gaine was fired for the aforementioned reason I believe he was, then the front office must've thought he was extremely conservative with a lack of aggression in free agency or the NFL draft.rnrnThat's what I think at least. We don't know really why the Texans fired Brian Gaine -- we may never get the true story -- so I won't be able to tell how much I know relative to how much they do.rnrn[story_link_related select_cta="trending" description="The%20Texans%20are%20executing%20a%20deadly%20game%20plan" url="https://houseofhouston.com/2019/06/14/houston-texans-rumors-rob-gronkowski-deadly-plan-tight-ends/" /]rnrnBut some of these moves Gaine made were really puzzling to me, such as the Bradley Roby deal. Once again it's another "prove it deal" that Gaine wanted to happen but with the way Tyrann Mathieu was treated, I doubt that he'd re-sign Roby, even if his performance on the field was above satisfactory. So why even sign Roby in the first place? Did this question ever come up in the Houston Texans front office? Maybe it's only a temporary solution but the Houston Texans certainly haven't gone out looking for a permanent solution, at least not that I know of.rnrnBut then there's the other crazy theory that the Texans fired Gaine so they could hire Nick Caserio, who is currently the general manager of the New England Patriots.rnrnWith all these thoughts, I'm probably putting you in a maze and confusing you the more I type. Bottom line, if Gaine was fired for not being more aggressive and they did immediately install his replacement, then maybe we do somewhat know as much as the Houston Texans ' front office knows. But we certainly won't find out if that's the case any time soon.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Thought%20%232%3A%20The%20Caserio-O'Brien%20Theory" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_65517" align="alignnone" width="3200"] New England Patriots GM Nick Caserio, who was being pursued by the Houston Texans (Photo by 2017 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images)[/caption]rn Thought #2: The Caserio-O'Brien Theory rn Where does Nick Caserio and Bill O'Brien play in all of this? rnrnTo be honest, I really wanted to write this article so I can discuss what's in this part of my piece. The stuff above this was really just a bunch of crap to introduce my topic. But I'm going to kick this off with Bill O'Brien.rnrn First GM scenario: Rick Smith and O'Brien couldn't work well together. The thought process was that Smith was more tenured yet still hasn't put together a team that won a ring, so they decided to side with O'Brien and Rick became the odd man out. rnrn Result: O'Brien stays. rnrn Second GM scenario: Gaine and O'Brien are supposedly good friends and are on the same page for how to improve the team. However, for some unknown reason, Gaine was let go. rnrn Result: O'Brien stays. rnrnWhat I'm trying to point out is that O'Brien has already knocked out two GMs from the Texans ' front office and there's going to be a third GM coming in.rnrn If this third GM is fired before O'Brien is, then I think I'm going to lose my mind. rnrnThis has shown me one thing, and it's that O'Brien is a very difficult person to work with. It isn't ethical for a coach to have to go through three GMs unless the coach is outstanding on the field with a giant win column and playoff success.rnrnThat's a no for O'Brien. A definite NO. There shouldn't be a firing of three GM's when keeping the same coach that hasn't made it past the second round of the playoffs. Now it's apparent that the Texans went all jacked up on Mountain Dew to attempt to sign Caserio, currently an integral character in the Patriots' front office.rnrnHere's the deal -- the Patriots clearly didn't want to lose Caserio, so they try to buy some time by sticking a tampering charge on Jack Easterby, the Texans ' executive vice president of team development and also a former Patriot himself.rnrnThe franchise was able to steal Easterby away from the Pats this offseason and O'Brien was ferociously trying to take away their current GM as well. And they ended up with the best case scenario out of that charge, as the Houston Texans gave up their pursuit. Ironically, Caserio reportedly said he wants out so he can take the Houston Texans ' GM position but until then, Texans won't pursue him because of "contract issues."rnrn[story_link_team_logo league="6" division="12" team="10" select_cta="related_story" description="Brian%20Gaine%20needs%20to%20come%20forward%20amid%20discrimination%20charges" url="https://houseofhouston.com/2019/06/16/houston-texans-rumors-brian-gaine-needs-come-forward-amid-controversy/" /]rnrnThat's a load of bull crap. They could've challenged the contract concerns. But why didn't they? Read my lips on this theory -- Bill O'Brien wants to keep a strong relationship with the Patriots to make a big move with them in the future. rnrnThis sounds random at first and I have no idea what this move might entail so let me try and clear it up.rnrn Back when the Patriots had Rob Gronkowski on the trade block, it was reported that the Texans were one of the four teams the Patriots could "trust" in the league. rnrn You know why that was the case and probably still is? rnrnHold that thought...rnrn[nextslide teaser="Thought%20%233%3A%20Determining%20the%20end%20game" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_62368" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Houston Texans chairman Cal McNair and head coach Bill O'Brien (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)[/caption]rn Thought #3: Determining the end game rnO'Brien used to work for the Patriots *largely exaggerated sarcastic gasp*. The other three teams mentioned -- 49ers, Lions and Titans have employees that were fundamental parts of the Patriots from the past.rnrnDid O'Brien and the Houston Texans front office purposefully ditch the pursuit, while Caserio is still a Patriot, in order to keep a strong relationship with them? Possibly. I wouldn't know why they would want to maintain such an association unless they were planning on further communication.rnrnBut it makes sense to say that if Caserio plans on leaving Patriots anyway, why give up on that strong relationship with the best franchise in all of NFL? Even if Caserio agrees to stay in New England, it certainly wouldn't hurt to keep that strong relationship. Trying to escape the charge could've hurt the ties with Patriots deeply, maybe even cut them entirely but it looked like O'Brienrnrn[recentposts thiscategory="no" /]rnrnwas prepared to take that risk.rnrn I still can't fathom what a future move could entail. It could range from trading for one of their star players to stealing their towel boy. I have no clue. But I wonder that if they do end up landing Caserio, then maybe they can use that strong, established relationship with the Patriots for an advantage.rnrnOr the Patriots could hate us entirely for trying to steal Caserio away from them and wouldn't want to speak with the Houston Texans ever again. But either way, there's a clear message that O'Brien has added pressure toward his current job and if there's another bad relationship between O'Brien and the future third GM, then we all are going to know who's at fault.rnrn[story_link_next description="Texans%3A%20Top%2030%20players%20in%20franchise%20history" url="https://houseofhouston.com/2019/02/12/houston-texans-top-players-history/" /]rnrn[apply_now site_url="houseofhouston.com" /]rnrn And that's my two cents... rnrnHow do you feel about the Gaine firing? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below.

House of Houston

Houston Texans: Three thoughts reflecting on the firing of Brian Gaine

It has been about three weeks since the Houston Texans fired Brian Gaine as their general manager. Here’s a reflection in regard to the decision made.

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