Patriots reportedly lose director of player personnel Nick Caserio to the Houston Texans

Third time did indeed turn out to be the charm for the Houston Texans. After already trying to hire him two times before, the team will now gets its wish: Nick Caserio will leave his position as the New England Patriots’ director of player personnel to become the Texans’ next general manager, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Caserio first arrived in New England in 2001 and steadily climbed up the organizational ladder before being named the team’s director of player personnel in 2008. Since then, he has served as the right-hand man for head coach and de facto general manager Bill Belichick, playing a key role in helping build the Patriots’ last three Super Bowl rings.

But even though he was one of the highest-ranking people within the club, Caserio was never the number one guy in terms of final say over the roster — that role always belonged to Belichick. Now, he will get a chance to prove himself in this area while leaving the Patriots without one of their most integral people as was evidenced by Belichick’s statements in the 2017 documentary Do Your Job.

“I don’t think there’s another general manager in the league that would do anything that would even approach what he does comprehensively in addition to all the personnel duties. He’s there for game-planning, preparation, practice, game day,” Belichick said about Caserio at the time. “Nick does a tremendous job for us. Works hard, he’s got a great capacity, and has a very unique skill set.”

Now, the Patriots will need to replace Caserio’s versatile role — all while building a team that can improve up on the 7-9 season that came to an end just two days ago.