Bill Belichick says Houston’s offseason pursuit of Nick Caserio is ‘water under the bridge’
FOXBOROUGH, MA – SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on before the game against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is not hung up on the Texans’ offseason pursuit of Nick Caserio.
The Patriots’ actions told a different story, of course, as the team filed tampering charges against the Texans on June 13 (but dropped them just a day later when the Texans backed off their pursuit of the New England director of player personnel).
It also opened the door for a lot of analysis opinion pieces on Caserio’s happiness in Foxborough, creating additional offseason “drama” for a franchise that never seems to be short on it despite a historic run of eviscerating the competition. (Belichick, for what it’s worth, wouldn’t even touch questions seeking clarifications on Caserio’s contract with the organization.)
That second part alone could have certainly opened the door for some bad blood between the two franchises.
But again, Belichick doesn’t hold anything against the Texans’ attempts to lure Caserio to Houston to be their general manager.
“I think that’s all water under the bridge,” Belichick said in his morning meeting with the assembled media.
And the near-move to Houston hasn’t exactly changed Caserio’s title within the organization or his day-to-day duties in New England, where job titles aren’t exactly at the top of the list of priorities, according to Belichick.
“Whatever the rules are, they are,” Belichick said when asked if Caserio’s role is actually that of a general manager by league rules. “I didn’t write them. Whatever they are, they are. Titles aren’t the most important thing in the world around here. To us, winning is.”
And given the turnover the Patriots have dealt with on their coaching staff, having somebody like Caserio, who has been both a front office executive and on-field coach, could be an invaluable boost to the Patriots and their winning ways.
“Nick helps in a lot of ways, has a lot of experience,” Belichick offered. “I’m sure he does much more than any other personnel person in the league does with his added coaching responsibilities and interaction with the coaching staff.
“He’s a great asset in a number of areas.”
But with all that in mind, you know this coach. So don’t be too surprised if Belichick’s “water under the bridge” plays out to a billion-point win for the Patriots when they visit the Texans in primetime action on Dec. 1.
