Nick Caserio is staying put. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk the Patriots personnel man has declined an offer to interview with the San Francisco 49ers for their open GM job. That's the only GM job available this offseason (so far...one never knows).
The seemingly toxic atmosphere in San Fran aided and abetted by rudderless Niners owner Jed York probably didn't make the job too attractive to Caserio. York fired Chip Kelly last week, Jim Tomsula last year and couldn't get along with Jim Harbaugh prior to that, despite Harbaugh's success (36-19-1 over four seasons). Recently-fired GM Trent Baalke didn't seem to be a real prize to work with either but York kept him around for two post-Harbaugh seasons. Seems real Machiavellian and such.
Caserio is undeniably one of the league's best personnel men and -- given the success of people who've worked under him -- is a shoo-in candidate for any team to show interest in. But the situation in New England is somewhat unbeatable. Although it will always be necessary to get Bill Belichick's assent on any big decision, Caserio and Belichick share a brain at this point and there aren't any known instances of there being any friction. Caserio's acquisitions on all fronts -- free agents, undrafted free agents, restricted free agents, street free agents, draft and trades -- his knowledge of the Patriots scouting operation and experience as a coach make him a lot more valuable to New England than he might be anywhere else.
For the Patriots the fact he's got no interest in San Fran is a boon. It also means there will be no package deal with Caserio and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels going to San Fran. McDaniels was scheduled to interview Saturday with the Niners, Jaguars and Rams in Massachusetts.
Following up on another possible vacancy, Texans head coach Bob McNair said Saturday night he won't be firing head coach Bill O'Brien. We speculated on the ripple effect an O'Brien candidacy could have on the rest of the coaching pool after NFL Media's Ian Rapoport offered that teams were waiting to see if O'Brien might get the gate.
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