Next question: Why did the Texans interview Ray Farmer and Martin Mayhew?
This is the one that is creating the biggest buzz in league circles. Given that both men are minority candidates, and in light of the speed with which they were interviewed, some suspect that the Texans hoped to quickly comply with the Rooney Rule via the Farmer interview, to over-comply with the Rooney Rule via Mayhew interview, and then to quickly hire Caserio. By interviewing no other candidates and by hiring neither Farmer nor Mayhew after the pursuit of Caserio imploded, the Farmer and Mayhew interviews look like shams.
Really, when has a team ever interviewed multiple candidates for a key job and decided to hire none of them? The speed with which the Texans decided not to pursue Caserio and not to hire anyone at all leads to a know-it-when-you-see-it conclusion that the Texans fired Gaine to hire Caserio, interviewed Farmer and Mayhew to stay on the right side of the Rooney Rule, made their move to hire Caserio, failed, and punted.
Although there was no Rooney Rule violation (it’s hard to violate the Rooney Rule when the team ultimately hired no one), the inescapable impression is that the Texans wanted Caserio, they interviewed Farmer and Mayhew because the Rooney Rule required it, and then they hired no one when they couldn’t get the only candidate they wanted.
They wanted Caserio. They presumably still do. Perhaps when the Texans finally fill the job, Farmer, Mayhew, and all other candidates (minority or otherwise) will decline to be interviewed.