Last week, rumors were flying left and right across the NFL landscape surrounding the Patriots’ Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio. There was, reportedly, an attempt by the Houston Texans to poach Caserio away from New England after they fired GM Brian Gaine the week prior. Houston had previously requested to interview Caserio in January of 2018 before they hired Gaine, but the Patriots denied the request.
Caserio has been in New England since 2001, serving in different capacities in both the coaching and scouting departments. He started off as an assistant, became the director of Pro Personnel from 2002-06, and was the WR coach during the Patriots’ record-setting 2007 season. He took over as the director of Player Personnel in 2008 when former VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli left to become the GM of the Chiefs.
The Belichick-Caserio combo has been a successful one. In their 11 seasons together (in their current roles), the Patriots have gone 134-42. They’ve been to five Super Bowls, winning three of them. On top of that, they’ve appeared in the AFC Championship Game in eight of the 11 years. The only time New England hasn’t made the playoffs during this span was 2008, a year that still saw an 11-5 record with Tom Brady absent due to an ACL tear.
Obviously, Belichick and Brady are due a tremendous portion of the credit, and they always get that. Caserio, however, has gone mostly unnoticed. Until now, many Patriots fans probably haven’t even heard his name. He talks to the media maybe twice a year, and other than that, he’s pretty quiet.
With questions about the long-term commitment of Caserio to New England, it’d be wise to look at some options for the future. Caserio may not leave to Houston, but it should be noted who the potential replacements would be if he were to leave.
Patriots GM Candidates
Scott Pioli
We mentioned him already, and it’d make a lot of sense to see Pioli return to New England. Belichick and Pioli have reportedly had a good relationship even after his departure. When he left his Assistant GM job in Atlanta in May after five seasons, it looked to me like he knew he was never going to the GM job with Thomas Dimitroff (former Patriots Director of College Scouting) there.
The F.o.B. (Friends of Belichick) seems to find their way back to New England. Josh McDaniels left in 2009 to become the Denver Broncos’ HC. He returned in 2012 to become the Offensive Coordinator once again. Mike Lombardi, the former Cleveland Browns’ Director of Player Personnel in the 90’s when Belichick was there, found his way to New England in 2014 as an adviser. O-Line coach Dante Scarnecchia retired and found his way back within two seasons. The connections just always seem to come full circle. Pioli seems like the best of the potential Patriots GM candidates.
Monti Ossenfort
It usually makes sense to look for the next guy up in the organization. In this case, it’s one of two guys. The first is Monti Ossenfort. This is a name few have heard before. Ossenfort currently serves in the role of Director of College Scouting – replacing Jon Robinson (now, Titans’ GM) in 2014 when he left for Tampa Bay.
The 39-year-old began as an intern and lower-level assistant with both the Vikings and Texans. Today, he’s responsible for compiling all information regarding players prior to the NFL draft. This is a familiar path for those working their way to becoming an NFL GM, so it’s possible that Ossenfort makes the step. He’s also garnered interest from the Texans on multiple occasions to make a return to Houston. However, this does still seem a little early for me.
Dave Ziegler
The second “next guy up” in New England is Dave Ziegler. Like Josh McDaniels and Nick Casario, Ziegler played college football at John Carroll University (where do they keep finding these guys???). The 38-year-old was Bob Quinn’s assistant (former Patriots’ Director of Pro Personnel and current Lions’ GM). He took over for Quinn when he left for Detroit in 2016. He was brought into the league by Josh McDaniels during his time as Denver’s HC. This seems like the least likely of the options because it’s really early.
Bill Belichick, himself
Belichick continues to take on different roles whenever the team needs him to do so. This year, he’ll be the Defensive Coordinator on top of his role as Head Coach due to the sudden loss of Greg Schiano who was expected to be the DC. Without the title, Belichick has already done so much of the work that a GM does. From all accounts, he has the final say over roster and contract decisions. With those being two major functions of the General Manager it may be more likely than not that he just continues to work as the de facto GM.
As long as Bill Belichick has final say on the team, whoever is in the role of GM or Director of Player Personnel isn’t super important. With that being said, finding a candidate to groom for the future post-Belichick is a good idea. I believe New England wants that to be Casario, but if he leaves there are at least some good potential Patriots GM Candidates.