Texans fire Bobby Slowik: Houston OC out after two seasons, per report
Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik entered the 2024 NFL season hoping to establish himself as one of the top head coaching candidates for the league's 2025 hiring cycle.
Instead, the 37-year-old's offense took a step back in 2024. That has led Houston to go in a different direction with its offensive coordinator job.
The Texans fired Slowik on Friday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The decision comes less than a week after Houston's 23-14 divisional round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and after a season during which the Texans ranked 19th in points per game and 22nd in yards per game.
Houston's offensive line coach Chris Strausser is also out as part of the team's offensive reshuffling.
BEN JOHNSON HIRE: Bears seemingly win big, but he's still a total unknown as head coach
Slowik was viewed as a rising star following his first season as the Texans' offensive coordinator. He worked well with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who posted a 9-6 record in 15 starts with 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions. As a result, Houston generated the 12th-most yards and 13th-most points league-wide while making an unexpected run to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
However, Stroud took a step back in 2024. He saw his completion percentage drop from 63.9% to 63.2%, his interceptions more than double from five to 12 and his passer rating drop from 100.8 to an even 87 (26th in NFL among 43 qualified passers). He also took 52 sacks compared to the 38 he took during his rookie season; he was sacked a whopping eight times in the Texans' playoff loss to the Chiefs.
Slowik may not be available for long on the open market. He generated a lot of interest during the 2024 offseason hiring cycle, interviewing for the head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.
This offseason, Slowik interviewed for the New York Jets' head coaching vacancy – which has since been filled by Aaron Glenn.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texans fire Bobby Slowik: Houston reportedly moving on from OC