Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has faced a lot of criticism this season from the team’s fans. C.J. Stroud has failed to build on an impressive rookie season, and the Texans fanbase often blames Slowik as a reason behind it.
Houston lost 27-19 against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season, and Stroud threw two interceptions. The Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, completely exploited the Texans’ offensive scheme, which resulted in more criticism for the Texans’ OC.
Bobby Slowik Faces Backlash From Texans Fans
The Texans fans on social media didn’t hesitate in calling out Slowik as some don’t think he should return next season as the team’s offensive coordinator. Here’s how some of them reacted after the loss to the Chiefs:
CJ Stroud has been carrying Bobby Slowik. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen another QB asked as often to win on 3rd and long after really not given a chance on 1st and 2nd down.
— TC Collins (@tcfromantioch) December 21, 2024
“Slowik is dogs**t. Let’s get a new coordinator next season,” said one fan.
Another fan wrote, “Slowik has got to go this offseason. Such a vanilla offense that sets up CJ for failure.”
Hot damn Spags just shoved Bobby Slowik in a locker on 3rd down
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) December 21, 2024
“There is no set of circumstances under which Bobby Slowik can be the offensive coordinator of this team next year,” a fan said.
“Bobby Slowik is actually so unbelievably bad at his job I don’t think he’d be a good high school OC,” added another Texans fan.
my only prayer at this point is hoping the bears are dumb enough to hire Bobby Slowik as HC
other than that…….rise recycle repeat pic.twitter.com/Xo4qz1JCcR
— NaronStradomus (@theTNShow) December 21, 2024
Slowik became the Texans’ offensive coordinator last season, and his work with a rookie quarterback in Stroud was quite impressive. Although Houston’s scoring average has not gone down this year (22.2 in 2023 and 23.1 in 2024), the difference in the quality of play from the offense is quite visible.
Last year, Stroud averaged 273.9 passing yards per game and threw just five interceptions in 15 games. In the same number of games this year, the Texans star has thrown 11 interceptions and is averaging just 232.8 passing yards per game.
The Texans were already without Stefon Diggs, who is out for the season due to an ACL injury, and now Tank Dell has also suffered a significant injury. The star wide receiver got hurt during the game against the Chiefs and was taken in an ambulance after a gruesome knee injury.
With Diggs and Dell potentially out for the rest of the season, Slowik will be under much more pressure to get the best out of Nico Collins, Stroud, and the rest of the offense.
Slowik Could Be an NFL HC Next Season
Texans fans have called for the franchise to get rid of Slowik, and that could potentially happen. However, it could be because the 37-year-old will get an opportunity to become a head coach in the league.
Slowik, Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson, and Aaron Glenn are among the top candidates for the next coaching cycle. The Texans’ OC worked with Kyle Shanahan for nine seasons, three in Washington and six in San Francisco. Coaches from Shanahan’s coaching tree have had a solid track record as head coaches in the NFL, and Slowik could be the next to join that list.
The Texans’ current head coach, DeMeco Ryans, also worked with Shanahan in San Francisco, and he has done a great job so far. The Texans’ OC hasn’t had as much success this year in Houston, but his work with a rookie version of Stroud cannot go unnoticed.
Some teams will be drafting a quarterback next year, and they could potentially be interested in getting Slowik. Moreover, if the Chicago Bears failed to land a top option, they could pivot to either Kliff Kingsbury or Slowik to help Caleb Williams develop. The Texans’ offensive coordinator still has two games left in the regular season and at least one more in the playoffs to improve his stock further.