Jack Easterby was named the executive vice president of football operations on January 28, 2020, being promoted to the role after joining the Houston Texans as executive vice president of team development in April 2019. In his role, Easterby manages all football operations and directs the overall culture of the organization.
Easterby came to Houston after six seasons with the New England Patriots. He joined the Patriots prior to the 2013 season in the role of character coach. During his tenure, Easterby saw his role expand to include the title of team development director and management responsibilities over several sub-programs within the organization. The Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship Game in each of Easterby's six seasons and took part in four Super Bowls, winning three. In February 2015, the Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix, which marked the franchise's first Super Bowl victory in ten seasons. The team also played in Super Bowls LI, LIII and LIII, completing the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI and topping the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
Prior to joining the Patriots, Easterby served the Kansas City Chiefs organization for the 2011 and 2012 seasons in character development in a role created through the vision of Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli.
Over his impactful career, Easterby has served as a team/athlete development consultant for multiple NBA teams, United States National Teams, and has mentored numerous PGA Tour players as well as Major League Baseball players. Easterby gained his first NFL experience in the summer of 2004 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, helping in football operations and public relations. He became the character coach for the University of South Carolina Athletics Department from 2005-10, where he implemented team-building programs for all Olympic sports including the 2010 & 2011 Men's Baseball National Champions and the eventual Women's Basketball National Champion while he assisted in both academic and spiritual accountability initiatives on campus.
Easterby and his family are founders of The Greatest Champion Foundation – an educational non-profit foundation built on Christian ethics that partners with leaders in high schools, universities and professional athletics to better equip leaders for the challenges they face. The foundation has trained and placed character coaches for athletic departments and professional organizations. Easterby continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of the foundation.
During his career devoted to the development of character and organizational culture, Easterby has strived to create leaders and organizations that demand equal opportunities for all individuals. During his time in New England, he was featured by the Boston Business Journal's Leaders in Diversity for his passion for diversity amongst leaders.
In Easterby's first year with Houston, the Texans put together a 10-6 regular season and captured the AFC South title on the back of a 4-2 division record and signature wins against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots, the Tennessee Titans, and in London, a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Houston went on to defeat the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round and earn its fourth appearance in the AFC Divisional Round in franchise history. As a result of the team's success, Easterby was named executive vice president of football operations on Jan. 28, 2020.
Together with Head Coach and General Manager Bill O'Brien, Easterby helped re-shape the Texans roster prior to the 2019 season. Houston executed five trades before the season to acquire pivotal pieces to its division title run: T Laremy Tunsil and WR Kenny Stills from Miami, RB Duke Johnson from Cleveland, OLB Jacob Martin and OLB Barkevious Mingo from Seattle, RB Carlos Hyde from Kansas City and CB Keion Crossen from New England. During the season, the team landed CB Gareon Conley from Oakland to give them eight key contributors acquired via trade. Tunsil was named to his first career Pro Bowl after bolstering the left tackle position and signed a contract extension with the Texans in April 2020, while Hyde put together the first 1,000-yard season of his six-year career. Stills added to the receiving core by catching 40 balls and averaging 14.0 yards per reception while adding four touchdowns and his first-career postseason touchdown grab in the AFC Divisional Round.
The Columbia, S.C. native graduated from Newberry College, where he captained the basketball and golf teams to historic seasons while setting records in men's golf for lowest nine-hole score and tying for the lowest 18-hole score. As a senior, Easterby was named Scholar Athlete of the Year by both Newberry College and the South Atlantic Conference as well as receiving the SAC Male Athlete Character Award, in addition to the American Legion Athlete of the Year Award.
Easterby and his wife, Holly, have two daughters, Houston and Harriet.
