PHOENIX — Nick Caserio might have the most unique job in the NFL.

The Patriots director of player personnel is actively involved with nearly every aspect of the football operation, and he is considered to be in the mix for the league’s Executive of the Year award.

While his most traditional responsibilities include contract negotiations, scouting for the draft and free agency, Caserio has a strong hand in the daily activities during practice preparations and game management. Bill Belichick has always preferred his general manager types to watch every practice in order to have a firm grasp on the pulse of the team, which is a philosophy the coach gleaned from Bill Parcells, and that has translated to Caserio’s duties.

“That’s the key to it,” running backs coach Ivan Fears said. “He is with us. He is listening all the time. He is seeing me coach these guys. He is hearing the coaching points that I’m giving them. He is watching the film with us. He is grading them. We’re grading them. We’re talking all the time about what he sees and what I see. We’re trying to be on the exact same page.

“So if he is looking at a (running) back, he is saying, ‘That guy wouldn’t fit Ivan, what we want.’ It’s the nature of the guy. Or he is saying, ‘That guy is the kind of guy that we’d like to have.’ So when Nick tells me that he’s got a guy I like, he’s probably dead on.”

Caserio intently watches each practice and reviews the tape of each session in his office, and he also participates. The former John Carroll University quarterback — he beat out offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for the starting job — delivers passes during positional drills when they are shorthanded.

“He has a cannon,” cornerback Kyle Arrington said.

Caserio also has an important role on game day, as he is connected to McDaniels’ headset and relays defensive personnel notes to help McDaniels cipher through his play calls. Because the two have been close for about 20 years, their chemistry and like-minded offensive philosophies serve as an asset as Caserio watches from the booth.

“I think he is probably the only (front office executive) in the league that’s doing that,” McDaniels said.

Caserio’s role in personnel decisions has increased significantly in the last two years since Floyd Reese left. He leads negotiations in trades and contract discussions and is said to be very well-respected by outsiders who deal with him on a regular basis. Though Caserio has had his current role since transitioning from an assistant coach in 2008, the belief through 2012 was Belichick was the true authoritative voice through both Reese and Caserio.

Caserio, who turned 39 last month the day before signing a contract extension through 2020, has had a dynamite year on the personnel front. The Patriots signed cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner and receiver Brandon LaFell to head their free agent class, re-signed receiver Julian Edelman and squashed a messy situation with defensive lineman Vince Wilfork by extending his deal.

The Pats also reworked Tom Brady’s deal, traded left guard Logan Mankins for tight end Tim Wright, extended special teams captain Matthew Slater, safety Patrick Chung and running back Brandon Bolden, and acquired defensive end Akeem Ayers, linebacker Jonathan Casillas and defensive tackle Alan Branch in midseason moves.

Obviously, Belichick has a say in every decision, but he has trusted Caserio with the brunt of the power to get it done.

“I don’t know anybody that works any harder than Nick does,” McDaniels said. “He adds value, and it’s countless the amount of people and portions of the organization that he affects with his work. He is diligent with it. He is prepared. He is extremely well-versed in all the things that he is part of.

“He does a lot of things. He is kind of a jack of all trades and he is really a master of all of them, too. He is a unique individual, really deserving of any success and accolades that he gets.”

Caserio acquires the types of players the coaches want, too, because he spends so much time with them. He is a regular in positional meeting rooms and takes part in the grading process. Fears was actually fired up when discussing his conversations with Caserio.

“(They happen) all the time,” Fears said. “All the time. Heck yeah. No doubt about it. Just little comments about something we saw at practice or didn’t see at practice, how a guy is doing or how well he is not doing. Oh my goodness, we talk all the time.”

And somehow, Caserio has found the time to do it all.

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Correction: In an earlier version of this story, a photo incorrectly identified Patriots assistant Berj Najarian as Nick Caserio.