The Houston Texans' search for a new general manager continues, and they're no longer looking at a certain Patriots exec to fill the void.
The team announced Friday that it has stopped pursuing New England's de facto general manager Nick Caserio -- his official title is director of player personnel -- to replace Brian Gaine, whom the Texans fired last Friday.
"When we started the process to interview Nick Caserio for our EVP/GM position, we consulted the League office on numerous occasions, followed the procedures outlined in the League's rules and believed we were in full compliance," Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair said in a statement. "We have now been made aware of certain terms in Nick's contract with the Patriots. once we were made aware of these contract terms, I informed Mr. [Bob] Kraft that we would stop pursuing Nick."
The change of course comes just a few days after the Patriotsfiled tampering charges against the Texans for attempting to hire Caserio. On Friday, New England dropped the charges in the wake of Houston waiving the white flag, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, per a source.
Patriots owner Bob Kraft also released a statement suggesting all is well between the two organizations.
"The Houston Texans and the New England Patriots have always had a great working relationship," Kraft said. "We appreciate the way Cal McNair has handled this situation."
Houston now heads back to the drawing board to fill its vacancy. The club interviewed two candidates last weekend -- former GMs Ray Farmer and Martin Mayhew.
