Bobby Slowik entered Tuesday still in the mix for both remaining HC openings. The Texans’ offensive coordinator will pass on Seattle and Washington. Slowik will stay in Houston, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer.
A new deal, one that Breer mentions includes a significant raise, will keep Houston’s play-caller in town. This will ensure pivotal continuity for the ascending Texans, who saw C.J. Stroud become an impact rookie with Slowik calling the shots. This marked Slowik’s first season calling plays, but the former 49ers assistant was a fixture on this year’s HC carousel. He figures to be a big name during next year’s hiring period as well. This agreement also comes with an extension, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets.
The Seahawks interviewed Slowik, and the Commanders had met twice with the up-and-coming play-caller. Slowik, 36, also met with the Falcons, Panthers and Titans this month. The Falcons interviewed Slowik twice but went with Raheem Morris. Ben Johnson was rumored to be the favorite for the Washington job, but even with the two-year play-caller staying in Detroit, Slowik will no longer pursue the position. It is far from certain Slowik would have landed the job; he was not mentioned as a favorite like Johnson was. Still, this narrows the field for the Commanders.
Ravens DC Mike Macdonald, Ravens D-line coach Anthony Weaver, Cowboys DC Dan Quinn and Lions DC Aaron Glenn are the coaches remaining in the mix who have interviewed twice with the Commanders. Slowik met with Commanders brass in-person Jan. 23. Glenn is meeting with team reps today. Macdonald and Quinn are also in contention for the Seahawks’ job. Neither Seattle nor Washington has contacted Bill Belichick.
This represents big news for the Texans, who have seen quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson interview for multiple OC positions. The Saints have interviewed Johnson twice, while he spent today in Tampa meeting with Buccaneers brass. Slowik staying would provide some protection in the event Johnson leaves, giving Stroud continuity going into his second season. The Slowik-Johnson partnership worked wonders for Stroud in 2023; the No. 2 overall pick is the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year acclaim.
Effectively in a two-year holding pattern as they pondered how to replace Deshaun Watson, the Texans ranked 30th in each of the previous two seasons. DeMeco Ryans‘ Slowik hire helped vault the team (with a notable Stroud assist) to 13th in scoring this season. The Texans voyaged to the divisional round, doing so after winning just 11 games from 2020-22. Set to build around Stroud’s rookie contract, the team now has assurances Slowik will keep working with the prized prospect.
Slowik resides in a strong spot regarding future HC employment. He comes from a Kyle Shanahan tree that has already produced three HC hires since 2021 and is tied to one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks. It is arguable this situation outflanks Johnson’s in Detroit, given Stroud’s trajectory. Higher-profile jobs could become available in 2025, with the Cowboys and Eagles deliberating on their HCs after disappointing playoff exits. The Bills have also hit a divisional-round wall under Sean McDermott, while the Jaguars are weeks removed from a collapse. Slowik will join Johnson in reassessing the landscape in 2025.
Makes sense for everyone. For him, he’ll be an even better candidate with more than one year as a coordinator. For the Texans, they should be thrilled to hold onto him for more money. There’s no salary cap on coaches. For football fans (at least those of us with no reason to root against the Texans), it’s exciting that he and Stroud will be together another year.
I agree. This is the best thing that could have happened for the Texans. Slowik showed some impressive traits to me in the playoffs as a playcaller, despite Houston’s loss to Baltimore. He was adaptable, calling different plays to attack different parts of the field, in both run and pass, and manufactured success in some occasions where the skilled Ravens defense had suffocated the offense’s prior approach. A lot of coaches run a high performing offense; not many coaches know when to change their own game plan.
That stood out to me because time and again we see playcallers unable to deviate from their gameplans in the face of a well prepared opponent, and it shows that Slowik could be a coach who could excel with adjustments and adaptability, which is a great advantage to have. Hopefully for him, Houston, and Stroud, Slowik continues to display that trait and improves the offense even more this year.
Being a hot coordinator one year doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be the next. There’s no guarantee that Slowik will be in demand next year. Look at last year, Anarumo, Dorsey, Bienemy, Frazier and Kellen Moore were all guys that got head coaching interviews last year and as far as I know nobody I just named got interviewed for anything above coordinator status
A year can definitely change a lot on the coach circuit, but I don’t think he’s quite comparable to any of those guys. He’s much younger than all of them except for Moore. It’s his first time being considered for head coach jobs unlike any of those guys and coming off his first year coordinating unlike any of them. He’s also a former Shanahan assistant, an offensive play caller, and coming off a year when he helped make a rookie QB look great immediately and helped turn a disaster franchise into a playoff team. All of that is a very high degree of heat.
And yet he was not offered a head coaching position this year. I’m not saying that he won’t get interviewed next season but if Stroud has a down year, it may not happen. Freddie Kitchens got handed a head coaching job after he was Baker Mayfield’s OC in his record braking rookie season. 2nd year didn’t turn out well for either
Freddie Kitchens was a dopey hire, though. They got too excited about how Mayfield played under an interim OC who had never been a coordinator before and then made him head coach. Kitchens hadn’t assisted a great offensive coach and then had a massively successful season as a coordinator installing an offense from day one. We also don’t know if Slowik would have been offered a job had he stayed on the market. Washington now has a job to fill with no Ben Johnson and a GM who came from SF.
I’m guessing he removed his name because he wasn’t going to be offered. We know Slowik has the desire to be head coach. Nothing is guaranteed. Washington, I think, is a pretty attractive opportunity because of their cap space
Like Ben Johnson with the lions- dude is gonna get paid to stay. And why not? They both, literally saved their franchises.
Aaron Rodgers: “Don’t those silly Bears fans know I’m the only one capable of saving franchises?”