Charley Casserly
Encyclopedia
Charley Casserly is a 16-year veteran NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...

 and 24-year NFL executive who worked for the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 and Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He currently works for NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...

 and CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...

.

Casserly recently served as Senior Vice President & General Manager, Football Operations, for the expansion franchise Houston Texans from 2000 to 2006. He headed all football operations for the club.

Early life

Casserly grew up in River Edge, New Jersey
River Edge, New Jersey
River Edge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 11,340.The community was incorporated as the borough of Riverside by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 30, 1894, from portions of Midland Township, at the...

 and paid for his tuition at Bergen Catholic High School
Bergen Catholic High School
Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade...

 by selling newspapers.

Casserly began his career as an assistant track coach at Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

, from 1969–72 before moving to a similar post at his alma mater, Springfield (MA) College
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private, coeducational university located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College is most famous as the site where the sport of basketball was invented...

 from 1973–74. He returned to Cathedral High School to serve as the school's athletic director for two years before becoming head football coach at Minnechaug High School from 1975–76.

He holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in guidance from Springfield College, where he also played football. In May 2005, he received an honorary doctor degree in humanics from Springfield. Casserly is also a member of the Springfield College Sports Hall of Fame and Bergen Catholic High School Hall of Fame.

Washington Redskins

In his 23-year career with the Washington Redskins, the team went to four Super Bowls, winning three. Casserly was an assistant to Bobby Beathard
Bobby Beathard
Bobby Beathard is a former general manager in the National Football League. Over the course of his 38 years in the NFL, his teams competed in seven Super Bowls , beginning with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966, Miami Dolphins in 1972 and 1973, Washington Redskins in 1982, 1983, and 1987, and the San...

 for two of the Super Bowl winning seasons. In 2003, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue appointed him to the NFL's Competition Committee for the second time (2003–06; 1996–1999).

Casserly started with the Redskins in 1977 as an unpaid intern under Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

 coach, George Allen. Washington hired Casserly as a scout the next season. During his early years as a scout, he unearthed free agents Joe Jacoby
Joe Jacoby
Joseph Erwin Jacoby is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins...

 and Jeff Bostic
Jeff Bostic
Jeffrey Lynn Bostic is a former American football offensive lineman who played for the Washington Redskins in the National Football League.-College career:...

, who were original members of the famed "Hogs"
The Hogs (American football)
The Hogs was the nickname for the offensive line of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League during the 1980s and early 1990s. Renowned for their ability to control the line of scrimmage, the Hogs helped the Redskins win three Super Bowl championships under head coach Joe Gibbs...

 offensive line and key components of Washington's first two Super Bowl teams. Jacoby was selected to four Pro Bowls and Bostic made one trip to Honolulu. The Redskins elevated Casserly to Assistant General Manager in 1982 and the club went on to capture its first Super Bowl. That year, Casserly also re-instituted the club's intern program, which has produced more than 20 league executives over his years in Washington and Houston.

In 1987 during the NFL players strike, Casserly put together the Redskins' "replacement" team that went 3–0 before the strike ended, including a Monday Night win against a Dallas team that featured a number of its star players. That experience was the subject of the Warner Bros. feature film, "The Replacements
The Replacements (film)
The Replacements is a 2000 American film directed by Howard Deutch. It stars Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton and Orlando Jones.-Plot:...

," that starred Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...

 and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...

.

Elevated to General Manager in 1989, Casserly sustained the Redskins' history of uncovering high-quality players in the later rounds of the draft. He used a fifth-round draft pick in 1990 to select Southwest Louisiana quarterback Brian Mitchell. Washington then converted Mitchell into a running back/kick returner, where he later joined Jim Brown
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...

 as the only players in NFL history to lead the league in combined net yards four times. In 1996, Casserly plucked Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

 running back Stephen Davis
Stephen Davis (American football)
Stephen Lamont Davis is a former American football running back in the National Football League. Davis will be the Carolina Panthers' minority coaching intern for the 2010-11 season.-College career:...

 in the fourth round. Davis paced the NFC in rushing in 1999 with 1,450 yards. Casserly also drafted future Pro Bowlers in wide receiver Keenan McCardell
Keenan McCardell
Keenan Wayne McCardell is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League and current wide receivers coach for the Washington Redskins. He was drafted by the Redskins in the 12th round of the 1991 NFL Draft...

 (12th round, 1991) and tight end Frank Wycheck
Frank Wycheck
Frank John Wycheck is a former American football tight end in the National Football League. Wycheck attended Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia. Drafted in sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft out of the University of Maryland by the Washington Redskins...

 (sixth round, 1993). During the 1999 off-season, Casserly acquired veteran quarterback Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson (American football)
James Bradley Johnson is a former National Football League Super Bowl-winning quarterback. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the ninth round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.-Early years:Brad went to Charles D...

 who responded with a Pro Bowl season.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly, The Sporting News and USA Today named Casserly their NFL Executive of the Year at mid-season. On draft day in 1999
1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...

, Casserly acquired all of the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

 1999 selections, plus their first and third-round picks in 2000 by swapping the Redskins' fifth selection in the first round for the Saints' 12th choice. He still managed to obtain the player that Washington wanted, selecting future Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey
Champ Bailey
Roland "Champ" Bailey is an American football cornerback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Bailey was drafted in the 1st round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Georgia.Bailey is 8th among Broncos in all-time...

.

Not all of Casserly's picks were good ones. A number of his selections were poor, with the most notable example being Heath Shuler
Heath Shuler
Joseph Heath Shuler is a businessman, a former NFL quarterback, and the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party....

, who was selected with the third overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft. Shuler had a fruitless NFL career. In 2008, ESPN rated Shuler the 4th biggest NFL Draft bust of all time.

Casserly's Redskins career ended after the 1999 season when he was fired by team owner Dan Snyder.

Houston Texans

After leaving the Redskins, Casserly took on the General Manager role for the expansion Houston Texans.
With the franchise's first four selections in the 2002 NFL Draft, Casserly drafted David Carr
David Carr
David Duke Carr is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...

, Jabar Gaffney
Jabar Gaffney
Derrick Jabar Gaffney is an American football wide receiver for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft...

, Chester Pitts
Chester Pitts
Chester Morise Pitts II is an American football offensive lineman, currently a free agent in the NFL. He played college football at San Diego State University...

, and Fred Weary.

During Casserly's remaining drafts for the Texans, (2003 through 2006), the Texans drafted five eventual Pro-Bowlers: Andre Johnson
Andre Johnson
Andre Lamont Johnson is an American football wide receiver currently playing for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Through the 2010–11 NFL season, Johnson currently ranks first all-time in NFL history in receiving yards per game for a career...

 (WR, 2003), Jerome Mathis
Jerome Mathis
Jerome Alvon Mathis is a professional American and Canadian football wide receiver and kick returner who currently is a free agent. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football for Hampton.Mathis has also been a member of the Washington...

 (KR, 2005), DeMeco Ryans
DeMeco Ryans
DeMeco Ryans is an American football linebacker in the NFL for the Houston Texans. He played college football at the University of Alabama.- High school career :...

 (LB, 2006), Mario Williams
Mario Williams
Mario Jerrel Williams is an American football defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was selected first overall by the Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft...

 (DE, 2006) and Owen Daniels
Owen Daniels
Owen Daniels is an American football tight end and emergency backup quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League...

 (TE 2006). Ryans was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006. Mario Williams, who many criticized for being the #1 overall pick in 2006 (behind college standouts Reggie Bush
Reggie Bush
Reginald Alfred "Reggie" Bush II is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft...

 and Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...

), made the Pro Bowl in the 2008 season.

During Casserly's tenure as GM, the Texans went 4–12 in their inaugural season of 2002, then improved to 5–11 in 2003 and 7–9 in 2004 before slumping to a disappointing 2–14 record in 2005. During the 2005 season, while the Texans were 1–12, team owner Bob McNair hired former NFL coach Dan Reeves to serve as a consultant to help McNair evaluate his team. After the end of the season, head coach Dom Capers was fired by McNair. Casserly was criticized for a number of personnel moves, including trading second and third round picks to the Oakland Raiders for Phillip Buchanon
Phillip Buchanon
Phillip Darren Buchanon is an American football cornerback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders 17th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...

 in 2005. Buchanon was a poor player for the Texans in 2005, and was released by the team after the first four games of the 2006 season. In a public interview, McNair criticized the trade for Buchanon, saying that the front office had not done its homework.

Subsequent to the Texans' 2006 NFL Draft and after the Texans' 2-14 season, Casserly left the organization on June 1, 2006. Casserly sought a job in the National Football League front office, but was passed over for the job. He was succeeded as General Manager by Rick Smith. Casserly's work with the Texans has been subject to much criticism.

Broadcast career

In addition, Casserly has had extensive experience in radio and television for 16 years. While in Washington, he was a part of local television shows on WUSA
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...

 (CBS), WJLA
WJLA-TV
WJLA-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliated television station in Washington, D.C.. It is the flagship station of the Allbritton Communications Company, which also operates local cable station NewsChannel 8. The two stations share broadcast facilities in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, Virginia...

 (ABC), WTTG
WTTG
WTTG, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C...

 (Fox) and HTS (Home Team Sports), as well as radio shows on WTOP and WJFK
WJFK-FM
WJFK-FM, known on-air as 106.7 The Fan, is a sports radio-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Manassas, Virginia, serving the metro Washington DC area...

. In Houston, Casserly did four years of television on KTRK (ABC) and six years of radio on KILT. In the Fall of 1999, he reported three times per week on ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...

 and was a contributor on ESPN's show, Edge NFL Match-Up
NFL Matchup
NFL Matchup is a National Football League preview show that airs every week during the regular season and playoffs. As of 2006, the official name is State Farm NFL Matchup, and it is produced by NFL Films....

.

In 2008, he was the color commentator for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 preseason games on Eagles Television Network.

Currently, he serves as an NFL insider as part of The NFL Today
The NFL Today
The NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...

on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

.

Controversy with Bill Belichick

At the end of the 2009 NFL season, Casserly stated that New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 quarterback Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...

 was playing through three broken ribs. His analysis, however, was refuted by Patriots coach Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...

, who stated, "Who's been wrong more than Charley Casserly since he left the Redskins? Wherever he's been, whatever he's done, his percentage is like a meteorologist...He has no relationship with this team, I'd say less than zero. He's never here, I don't know if he's ever been to a game. He's never been to a practice...at least he put his name on it and I'll put my name on it and say, like he usually is, he's 100-percent wrong."

Casserly caused further controversy when he reported on CBS' NFL pregame show (October 10, 2010) that a confrontation between Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...

 and Randy Moss
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

 occurred following New England's 38-30 victory over the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, that the two had to be separated, and that this was the impetus for the trade of Moss to the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

.

Belichick's criticism of Casserly stemmed from a December 2006 incident where the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 suggested they'd received game tape that included audio of Brady. Casserly said the Patriots had been warned about their videotaping practices - "(they had a staff member) dressed in coaching attire with a video camera who was presumably videotaping the other team's signals. You can't do that. They were warned." Belichick responded that he'd been told nothing from the league about it and sarcastically asked, "Why don't you go talk to Charley Casserly? He seems to have all the answers on everything."

Other work

Casserly is also employed by George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...

 as an executive-in-residence and instructor of sport management. He also teaches classes at nearby Georgetown University.

Personal life

Casserly and his wife of 28 years, Beverley, have a daughter, Shannon, who graduated from American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

 in 2006. They currently live in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

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