The Texans are searching for a new employee: A facility hygiene coordinator to run coronavirus risk mitigation throughout the team's workplaces. Texans Exec VP/Football Operations Jack Easterby said that giving those duties to a new, dedicated staffer ensures it will remain a long-term priority. He described the ideal candidate as someone who will "wake up each morning and go to bed each night thinking about the cleanliness of the facility." The new hire will report to Special Advisor for Medical Administration Geoff Kaplan, but it is more of an operations management job than a medical position, Easterby said. The hygiene coordinator will be expected to swiftly implement new virus-protection protocols likely to come from the NFL or public health bodies as sports restart. Those might include installation of new infrastructure, like touchless doors and sinks, or rules for social distancing in crowded areas, or ensuring supplies of necessary cleaning products or equipment, or educating staff. The person also will oversee Aramark, the Texans' commercial janitorial contractor (Ben Fischer, SBJ Unpacks). In Houston, Aaron Wilson notes the Texans are "believed to be the first professional sports team to explore adding this type of specialized position." NRG Stadium is owned by Harris County, so the hygiene coordinator "would work in tandem with all team partners that utilize the multi-use facility" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/5).
