The Colts identified Caserio as their top candidate to take over their vacant general manager position, but Caserio declined the opportunity, according to ESPN. However, for what it's worth, Colts owner Jim Irsay denied the validity of the report on his Twitter feed.
The Colts' general manager position — which opened last week when Chris Polian was fired along with his father, team president Bill Polian — is extremely appealing, so it says a lot that Caserio turned down the chance to explore the option.
Indianapolis holds the No. 1 pick, which could be used on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who looks like a surefire franchise player. Or the Colts could trade the pick for a host of selections — some have considered the possibility of two full drafts' worth of picks — to build around quarterback Peyton Manning. And if the health of Manning's neck is still in serious question, Luck is a heck of a fallback plan.
Because of the assets at hand, the Colts' new general manager will have the chance to put his imprint all over the organization. Plus, he would likely have the option of firing head coach Jim Caldwell and bringing in his own guy at that spot.
Yet Caserio opted to remain in New England, where things have worked out very well for him thus far. The Patriots have the greatest stability in the NFL between their owner, head coach and quarterback. And while Caserio will fly under the radar a little more with his current job title (director of player personnel) as opposed to the general manager tag, the 36-year-old has plenty of time to continue his growth alongside Bill Belichick.
One other note: The Colts have been one of the Patriots' greatest rivals since 2001, both on the field (Tom Brady versus Manning) and off (Bill Polian versus, well, everyone). If there's any remaining ill will between Belichick and the Colts' organization, despite their newfound lack of Polians, Caserio would avoid the traitorous fate bestowed upon former Belichick assistant Eric Mangini when he departed for the Jets.
At the end of the day, Caserio turned down a very enticing opportunity in Indianapolis, and that shows just how highly he values his place in New England.
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