Before anyone could ask Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio any questions about rumors of his imminent departure from his post, he borrowed from a popular movie line (and viral Twitter GIF) to shoot them down.
"Honestly, I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, but I'm not leaving," said Caserio, opening his pre-draft news conference on Monday with the statement. "There's never really been any substantive discussions of the sort."
Speculation had started to fly in recent days that Caserio, who was hired by the team in January 2021, could leave the Texans after the draft, possibly returning to the Patriots franchise where he first cut his teeth in NFL personnel.
But Caserio, who is just over two years into a six-year contract, said he was "almost embarrassed" to address the rumor.
"I feel like I have an obligation to make that statement and really try to stay ahead of (the story)," he said. "I mean, I don't think there's really anything else to talk about or say, any question about it."
He added, without context: "Unfortunately, I think this time of year there's a lot of information and a lot of topics that are discussed, some are more accurate than others, and I think it transcends multiple landscapes."
The Texans have a lot going on right now without those rumors. In addition to breaking in recently hired head coach DeMeco Ryans, the team is entering its final prep for the 2023 NFL Draft. Almost no team can impact this year's draft more than the Texans, who own 12 selections, including two first-round picks (Nos. 2 and 12 overall) and five choices in the first three rounds.
Caserio sounded like a man ready to get busy when asked about the team's plans with the second overall pick.
"We've received some calls on the No. 2 pick," he said, "so I think our job and responsibility is to listen, you know, not rule anything out, and I think whatever the end result is come Thursday, we'll be prepared to go either way.
"So if you want to quote me … are we open for business? I would say we're open to listening. If you want to change the vocabulary a little bit. But we have received a few calls, and again I think our responsibility is to listen, to try and take the information and then just make the right decision."
That certainly sounds like a man who plans to buckle up for a busy draft season -- and perhaps field a few more trade calls along the way.
"I'm grateful and appreciative of the opportunity that my family and I have here in Houston," Caserio said. "We understood when we arrived here that there was a lot of work to be done, and I think when you look across the NFL landscape, there's work to be done in every organization. And I think we've made some progress, we still have a lot of work in front of us."
