Texans to Lose Bobby Slowik, Hire Coach Belichick Protege Josh McDaniels?

Could former Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels join the Houston Texans if offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik leaves?

Despite having their own coaching situation settled, the Houston Texans are still watching this hiring cycle very carefully.

Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who just joined the team last offseason alongside coach DeMeco Ryans, is one of the hottest coaching candidates in this cycle. The 36-year-old has interviewed with five different teams, and aside from the division-rival Tennessee Titans, all of them still have a vacancy at the top. With teams now scheduling second, in-person interviews, it looks increasingly likely that Slowik will get his first chance to lead a franchise.

Obviously, the Texans would have to hire a new offensive coordinator if Slowik leaves. A natural replacement would be quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, but he has also drawn interest from teams looking for an offensive coordinator.

If the Texans are unable to promote from within, SI's Albert Breer believes they could have interest in former Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels given his ties to the franchise.

Bill-Belichick-Josh-McDaniels

"If both Slowik and Johnson were gone? I wonder whether the Texans would make a call to Josh McDaniels, given his track record with young quarterbacks, and the presence of his college teammate [general manager] Nick Caserio in Houston (McDaniels’s brother, Ben, is also on staff there)," Breer wrote.

McDaniels, 47, is something of a controversial figure in the NFL coaching sphere. He has had two head-coaching gigs, first with the Denver Broncos over a decade ago and more recently with the Raiders, but flamed out with both of them in less than two years. What McDaniels is perhaps better known for is being a longtime assistant with Bill Belichick's New England Patriots, most notably being the offensive coordinator for their last three Super Bowl victories.

With Belichick recently parting ways with the Patriots, many have speculated that McDaniels could follow him to his next destination, likely the Atlanta Falcons. However, with Belichick to Atlanta looking less like a sure thing, that could open up McDaniels to head elsewhere.

Bobby Slowik Leaving Texans For Falcons?

On one hand, McDaniels has plenty of experience as an offensive coordinator and his ties with Caserio and his younger brother Ben, the Texans' receivers coach and passing game coordinator, could make him an intriguing option.

On the other hand, would Ryans bring someone with McDaniels' reputation into the locker room? Many reports of him alienating players have emerged over the years, and it wasn't hard to see that the Raiders played much harder after he was fired and replaced by Antonio Pierce.

McDaniels to Houston is an interesting idea, but due to some red flags, it's worth pondering the bumps in the road in what some would derisively call a “Patriots Way” hire.


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