Will Bobby Slowik return as Texans offensive coordinator?

HOUSTON – The status of oft-criticized Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is being hotly debated inside and outside of NRG Stadium.

Although the offense made strides during the playoffs in some key areas, especially running the football with Pro Bowl runner Joe Mixon, the season marked an overall regression as they finished 19th in scoring offense as they averaged 21.9 points per game to rank 19th in scoring and 22nd in total offense with an average of 319.7 yards per contest, 21st in passing offense and 15th in rushing offense.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, who’s close with Slowik, was noncommittal on the status of any staff member or player and outlined at the start of his season-ending press conference that he planned to take the week to evaluate those decisions. His answer, while short, about Slowik, could be interpreted more than one way.

“I think overall with Bobby, I saw some growth,” Ryans said. “I saw some improvement throughout the year.”

Ryans will weigh the direction of the offense, the upside and downside of making a change and the input of key players, including quarterback C.J. Stroud, in formulating a decision that is ultimately entirely his call, per league sources.

Some of the downturn is attributable to substandard pass protection. Whether it was scheme or personnel, which was shifted nearly every week due to injuries and ineffectiveness at recognizing and picking up blitzes and line stunts, they allowed Stroud to be sacked 52 times after he was sacked just 38 times in his first NFL season and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Stroud threw a dozen interceptions, seven more than his rookie season.

“Overall, offensively, we have to improve,” Ryans said. “It wasn’t where we wanted to be. There were challenges throughout the year, that is every year. You have challenges, you have ups and downs where you try to figure out the course, who we have and how to make it work. We have to improve.”

Stroud was sacked eight times, tying a career-high, and hit 14 times overall in a 23-14 AFC divisional round loss to the Chiefs. They also outgained the Chiefs by more than 100 yards in the playoff loss and had no turnovers, engineering a 10-minute drive capped by Mixon’s touchdown run to start the second half. The Texans had 429 yards of total offense against the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC wild-card playoff win.

Offensive line coach Chris Strausser contemplated retirement before last season and isn’t expected to return, per league sources. Cole Popovich, the assistant offensive line coach is regarded as a strong internal candidate to potentially replace Strausser.

There wasn’t a lot of production or consistent blocking from the tight end position after signing veteran Dalton Schultz to a three-year, $36 million free agent deal. Schultz finished with 53 catches for 532 yards and two touchdowns on 81 targets.

“Yeah, with coaches it is the same thing,” Ryans said without naming any specific staff members. “Teams change, the room never stays the same. Players, coaches, support staff, it never stays the same. That’s how this business has been since I’ve been involved in almost 20 years now, it changes every single year. So that happens, there’ll be difficult conversations to have, but that is the nature of what we do.”

The Texans also dealt with season-ending knee injuries suffered by wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, taking away two viable downfield options and increasing the reliance on star wide receiver Nico Collins.

The Texans averaged 22.2 points per game in 2023, Slowik’s first season as an offensive coordinator after a previous stint as the San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator where he once shared an office with Ryans, to rank 13th in scoring offense. They ranked seventh in passing offense, 22nd in rushing offense.

Slowik interviewed virtually with the New York Jets on Thursday after practice last week.

Stroud was supportive publicly of Slowik, backing his return. How much weight the Texans will have on Stroud’s input remains to be determined.

“I think he did great,” Stroud said. “I think as time went on he got better and better. He was learning from his past and what he did in San Fran, learning from what he has done on the defensive side and putting it into his own scheme.

“I definitely think he has a lot of success coming his way and I’ve been honored to have it with him and hopefully keep it going. Definitely on Bobby’s side and appreciative of all of things he has taught me and how great he has been in my career so far.”

Mixon, acquired in a trade form the Cincinnati Bengals and signed to a three-year, $27 million extension, thrived in Slowik’s offense with 1,016 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. There were games, though, when the running game disappeared and the run blocking was shoddy as Mixon had nowhere to run and was hit in the backfield as soon as he got the handoff from Stroud. That was attributable to the blocking and the scheme.

“The way we came together at the end of the year, I felt it could have been a little more of focus on us,” Mixon said. “No matter what is called our there, whether run or pass, it’s up to the players to make that thing go. I think Slow did a great job with that of executing and I think he really honed in on the details toward the end of the year and I also felt like everyone bought into what we were doing. I think everybody gelled at the right time. We came up short.”

An identify appeared to be discovered finally in the playoffs: a smash-mouth, rugged approach.

“I think we really felt like everybody honed in on whatever it takes to win,” Mixon said. “You’re a competitor. Sometimes, stats matter. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t a great player. Sometimes, the stats can take away from the team. Once we came together at the right time, everybody bought in and whatever it took to win, everybody was starting to do that. We took that right direction after Baltimore when we lost on Christmas, everybody took initiative, it was really a reality check.”

Stroud averaged 7.0 yards per attempt, had a 2.3 interception percentage and threw 20 touchdowns, three less than his rookie season when he passed for 4,108 yards and joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only NFL quarterbacks in the history of the game to lead the league in passing yards per contest and touchdown-to-interception ratio in the same season.

Stroud doesn’t sound like he’s looking for change, preferring the status quo with Slowik.

“I don’t know how people can bounce from coordinator to coordinator, Stroud said. “I can’t imagine. That’s probably really tough. So, I definitely don’t recommend that. I definitely think if you can find a rapport with a guy and build that, do it to the best of your ability. And yeah, it would be great to have three years with that same scheme, that same type of Xs and Os and things like that would be great.”

Slowik wound up not getting any offers last season, but did receive an upgraded contract as he remained in Houston, as did quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson when he interviewed for offensive coordinator vacancies.

After Slowik interviewed with the Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons,, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers, he reached a deal to remain with the Texans. He agreed to an upgraded contract with a much higher salary, per a league source, an augmented deal supported by the McNair family, Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio.

The offense looked much better in a 32-12 playoff win over the Chargers as Stroud passed for 282 yards and a touchdown and Mixon rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown.

“I don’t know of any seasons that are smooth,” Ryans said after that game. “You have a lot of ups and downs, even when you are winning those things kind of go under the rug. There are ups and downs as coaches and as coaches you have to grow and evolve. You have to do things different and sometimes you set out to do or have a mindset of doing things one particular way and you always have to tweak those things and do what is best for the guys that you have and are capable of doing. I have seen where Bobby has definitely grown in that area of being able to adjust and put our guys in a position where they can be successful.”

Nonetheless, Slowik is still regarded as an up-and-coming young coach in league circles.

“I am extremely grateful to the McNair’s, to Nick,” Slowik said in the spring after receiving his new deal. “I know I have said it in the past but I can’t say it enough about DeMeco as a coach and as a person, what all they have meant to me and how great they have been through everything. I have been blessed that the players we have are just a really enjoyable group, as players and as people.

“I have had a lot of fun and I am fired up to do it again this year. I was blessed last year to have the opportunity to have a few head coaching interviews and go through that process and see what that is like, but I can’t even begin to describe my excitement for staying in Houston and getting back at it and going out and really building on what we did last year.”

The son of longtime NFL, CFL and college football coach Bob Slowik, the current linebackers coach for the Calgary Stampeders and a former defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears, Slowik has learned a ton from his father and San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and his father, Mike Shanahan.

“I am always asking people who helped my career,” Slowik said. “I know I have said before Kyle Shanahan and the Shanahan family, they have always been a huge impact on me in my career. But even before that and probably the biggest influence on me growing up was my dad, growing up as a long time NFL coach. I will constantly talk to him about how the game has evolved. He watched every one of our games- things that came up through the course of the season that he remembers.

“DeMeco is huge in that. Then my staff is phenomenal. I have a lot of experience on this staff, mixed in with some youth and a lot of energy in guys that can dive in a lot of different areas, self-scout wise or across the NFL, and pull things. We talked about player, but it is not just players, but Year Two for the staff is big also. Everyone has a really clear picture of what it is we want to do and how it all fits and being able to dissect that and really take things around the league and fit it into what we want to do and what our players are going to excel at. There is growth all the way across the board.”

Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790