By now you've surely read your fair share of stories about Stefon Diggs, the leading receiver on the New England Patriots who spent the 2024 season as a member of the Houston Texans. These sort of human interest stories are fairly common at this juncture of the season, and it's like catnip for broadcast partners like ESPN, CBS or NBC, who will likely run multiple stories about Diggs' time in Houston leading up to Sunday's game.
But Stefon Diggs isn't the only player (or individual for that matter) who has ties to both the New England Patriots and Houston Texans this Sunday afternoon. In fact, there seems to be more overlap with these two franchises than there is with any other two left in the postseason this year.
Rather than weaving this into some sort of cohesive story, instead I'll hit all of the connections between these two franchises in a rapid fire, bullet-point format that gets us from point A to point B more efficiently than wewould otherwise.
-First and foremost, we have Mike Vrabel, the New England Patriots head coach who for multiple seasons was a thorn in the side of the Houston Texans as he was leading the Tennessee Titans to one of their most successful stretches in franchise history. But before Vrabel briefly managed to turn the Titans into the class of the AFC South, he got his NFL coaching start as a linebackers coach with the Texans from 2014-16, and then spent one season as the Texans defensive coordinator in 2017.
-On the flip side, Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio got his start in New England all the way back in 2001 as a personnel assistant before eventually maturing into various front office roles. Caserio departed New England after the 2020 season to become the general manager of the Houston Texans, earning this glowing recommendation from Bill Belichick on his way out:
"Nick Caserio is one of the hardest working, dependable and team-oriented people I have worked with and his ability to handle a wide array of responsibilities is unique. Nick's contributions came on a daily basis and ultimately led to years of success and six championships, for which I am very appreciative. He did an excellent job for us and is extremely deserving of the opportunity to be a general manager."
-Nick Caserio isn't the only member of the Texans front office with ties to the Patriots. Senior personnel executive Steve Cargile spent 13 years in New England's scouting department, and Shane Vereen, Houston's player personnel assistant, played four seasons at running back for the Patriots from 2011-14.
-The Texans coaching staff includes former Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley, who is serving as Houston's offensive coordinator, and offensive line coach Cole Popovich, who was co-offensive line coach in New England from 2016-20. As far as the roster goes, Jake Andrews, Braxton Berriors, Trent Brown and Myles Bryant all spent time in New England before coming to Houston.
-To top things off, there will quite literally be a family affair in Foxborough on Sunday afternoon, as Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be coaching on the opposite sideline of his younger brother, Ben McDaniels, who is the wide receivers coach for the Texans.
“We kind of grew up in a coaches household with my dad,” Josh McDaniels said this week, per Malcolm Johnson of NBC Boston. “Just super proud of what he’s been able to do. Obviously, these are interesting situations when you find yourself competing with your sibling, but it’s a little bit more interesting for my parents than anybody else.”
Well hopefully it's interested everyone reading along here at Toro Times too.