The Houston Texans are hiring 49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik as their offensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. Here’s what you need to know:
- Slowik reunites with DeMeco Ryans, who the Texans hired as their head coach earlier this month. Ryans spent the past two seasons as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator.
- Ryans has begun putting his staff together and reportedly hired Matt Burke as the Texans’ defensive coordinator Friday.
- Slowik’s hiring comes two days after former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury reportedly met with Houston regarding the offensive coordinator vacancy.
Backstory
Slowik, 35, just completed his 10th season working in the NFL and first as the Niners’ passing game coordinator. He started with the 49ers in 2017 as the team’s defensive quality control coach before becoming an offensive assistant and then an offensive passing game specialist. Slowik has also worked in the NFL with Washington as a defensive assistant (2011-13) and a video assistant (2010).
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San Francisco advanced to the NFC Conference Championship this year, where it lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. The 49ers finished the season at 13-4 and first in the NFC West, while the Texans went 3-13-1 and fell to the bottom of the AFC South standings.
Who fills in for Slowik?
For the third straight offseason, coach Kyle Shanahan will have to shuffle the upper tier of his offensive coaching staff. He did so early in 2021 when Mike LaFleur went to the New York Jets and last year when Mike McDaniel was hired to coach the Miami Dolphins. With each of those moves, Slowik rose a little more in importance on Shanahan’s staff.
Who replaces him now? The top candidates are quarterbacks coaches Brian Griese and Klay Kubiak, the latter of whom seems to be the latest young, sharp mind on Shanahan’s staff. Tight ends coach Brian Fleury also is a candidate. He shared run-design duties with offensive line coach Chris Foerster this past season and also is thought highly of by Shanahan and his staff.
Who benefits from the move?
Houston already seemed like it could be a popular destination for the 49ers’ defensive free agents after Ryans landed the top job. Anyone from defensive back Jimmie Ward to defensive end Jordan Willis could end up there in March. Now the 49ers’ offensive free agents are in play, too. If Slowik wants to rebuild his offensive line in the mold of San Francisco’s, he has four players to choose from: tackle Mike McGlinchey, guard Daniel Brunskill, center Jake Brendel and tackle Colton McKivitz, who is a restricted free agent. Jimmy Garoppolo is now in play in Houston, too. He not only knows the offensive Slowik will run, but he’s also familiar to general manager Nick Caserio from their time in New England.
The biggest beneficiary might be Texans running back Dameon Pierce, the rookie who finished with 939 rushing yards in 2022. The 49ers have fielded a top-10 rushing attack in three of the last four seasons. Pierce would appear to be an excellent fit in the sort of zone-blocking scheme the 49ers use.
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How 49ers are fairing with the coaching departures
This can help illustrate how much turnover Shanahan has seen. Only four higher-level 49ers’ assistant coaches remain from the 2020 staff: Kris Kocurek (D-line), Johnny Holland (linebackers), Daniel Bullocks (safeties) and Chris Foerster (O-line). Running backs coach Bobby Turner is still on the staff as a senior offensive assistant, but no longer in the same role.
Departures have included offensive coordinator McDaniel, two defensive coordinators (Robert Saleh and Ryans) and several staffers who’ve followed those coordinators to head-coaching jobs — most recently Slowik. It appears that Shanahan has, at least so far, successfully prevented a brain drain through deft replacement hirings and promotions from within. It seems that the 49ers have been grooming both Kubiak and Fleury to pick up some of the slack left by a possible Slowik departure.
So the 49ers will continue operating as they have been since Shanahan views these coaching departures as a sign of his team’s success. He has no overall problem with them — except for the fact that his early offseason periods seem to constantly be busy due to necessary staff reshuffling. — Lombardi
Required reading
(Photo of Bobby Slowik (right) with Kyle Shanahan (left): Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images)