Just eight days ago, Bobby Slowik interviewed for the Jets’ head coaching job.
Just one year ago, five teams spoke with Slowik for their head coaching vacancies after he helped spark the rise of then-rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and guide the Texans to the divisional round as their offensive coordinator.
But after Stroud took a step back in Year 2, and after the Texans’ offense as a whole took a glaring turn, Slowik was fired from his offensive coordinator position on Friday by Houston, according to multiple reports, less than a week after the season ended — again — in the second weekend of the NFL playoffs.
The Texans’ yards (319.7) and points (21.9) dipped slightly from their 2023 numbers of 342.4 and 22.2, respectively, but the concerning trend revolved around Stroud, who played in all 17 games during the 2024 campaign — after only 15 his rookie year — but threw for 381 fewer yards, three fewer touchdowns and seven more interceptions.
Stroud, after winning the league’s offensive rookie of the year award last season, entered the campaign as an MVP candidate.
That potential, though, quickly evaporated after a slow start, even as Stroud defended Slowik during his press conference at the end of September.
“We all have faith in him, and we know that he is trying to put us in the best positions and we have to buy in to the system just as much as he has to call good plays,” Stroud told reporters, according to Sports Illustrated. “I have the utmost faith in Slowik, and he has been great but we have to buy into the system just as much as he has to call great plays. … We all talk about how we have each other’s back and we are going to keep holding each other accountable and have each other’s back.”
Part of that stemmed from injuries, with wideout Stefon Diggs tearing his ACL in Week 8 and wideout Tank Dell — who’d already established a strong connection with Stroud in just his second year — sustaining a gruesome knee injury that could keep him out for all of 2025.
That decimated the group around Stroud, but still, he managed to top 300 pᴀssing yards in a game just twice the entire season.
In two playoff games, he collected just 527 pᴀssing yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The regression didn’t stop Slowik from landing on the Jets’ extensive list of candidates that ultimately ended with them hiring Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
But it prevented him from having a chance to reboot the offense and revive Stroud next year.
Instead, the blossoming star will have a new coordinator in his final season before becoming eligible for an extension.
