Bobby Slowik Succession Plan Will Be Key to Texans Sustaining Winning
The Houston Texans are one of the small number of non-Super Bowl Champions in the NFL who can say their 2023 season was overwhelmingly successful.
After winning 11 total games in the three prior seasons, Houston won the AFC South title with 10 wins and throttled the Cleveland Browns in the opening round of the playoffs.
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There's every reason to believe the quarterback C.J. Stroud/coach DeMeco Ryans Era is going to be a great one, and perhaps produce the first Super Bowl title in the relatively brief future of the Texans.
But a magical season for the Texans came to an end Saturday evening in the AFC Divisional Round, as likely MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens pulled away in the second half, ultimately defeating Houston 34-10.
And there won't be much, if any, time for Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio to take a step back and reflect on an incredible campaign. Because there's work to be done in the immediate future to make sure there isn't a massive letdown next season.
The most pressing matter facing Ryans and Caserio right now is the future of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik with the team.
On one hand, Ryans hit it out of the park with his pick of Slowik, who presided over a likely Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign for Stroud, along with tremendous development from running back Devin Singletary and receivers Nico Collins and Tank Dell.
On the other hand, Slowik did such a good job, that it's possible he's one-and-done as the Texans offensive coordinator.
Slowik has already completed interviews with the Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans and is expected to also do so with the Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders on Sunday.
It's possible that all teams with vacancies decide that Slowik -- who just completed his first year calling plays in the NFL -- needs some more seasoning. But most teams with vacancies either have a young quarterback or will be drafting a young quarterback. And it's hard to argue with the work Slowik did with Stroud this season, and it definitely helps that prior to joining the Texans, he had stints on the coaching staffs of both Mike and Kyle Shanahan.
Even if Slowik isn't hired this cycle, he's probably not long for Houston. And with that, it's imperative that Ryans, Caserio and the Texans have a succession plan in place.
Perhaps that could mean promoting quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson to offensive coordinator, although the Philadelphia Eagles found out this year with Brian Johnson that just because someone has success as QBs coach doesn't mean it will be a seamless transition to them calling plays.
Senior offensive assistants Bill Lazor and Shane Day both have lengthy track records in the NFL, so perhaps they could get a promotion.
Ryans could also go back to the Shanahan well and try to poach a lower-level coach to become the next offensive coordinator, but there's been so much brain drain in San Francisco in recent years, that it's not a guarantee there's someone currently on the 49ers staff that would be a fit.
Ryans has done a tremendous job changing the culture in Houston, but the reality is he has a defensive background, which means if the Texans play well on offense, his offensive play callers will be hired to coach other teams.
This is a constant challenge for coaches with defensive backgrounds. Mike Vrabel struggled to replace Arthur Smith with the Tennessee Titans. Sean McDermott struggled to replace Brian Daboll with the Buffalo Bills. Bill Belichick's inability to replace Josh McDaniels contributed to his departure from the New England Patriots.
The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't won a playoff game since the 2016 season, and it can be argued that despite never having a losing season, Mike Tomlin's inability to get the offensive coordinator position right in recent years has played a major part in that.
Even very good to great coaches with defensive backgrounds have struggled to varying degrees once their offensive coordinators get hired away.
So we aren't saying that Ryans won't be able to successfully replace Slowik. But whether it's this offseason or next, the Texans will probably lose Slowik. And finding his successor will be one of the first major tests of the Ryans regime.
