NFL insider reveals who had major influence in Texans firing OC Bobby Slowik
WHO REALLY GOT HIM FIRED
28 January
Was DeMeco Ryans right to fire Bobby Slowik? Composite Getty Image.
When the Texans decided to part ways with OC Bobby Slowik last week, some were surprised DeMeco Ryans would pull the cord so quickly.
But others have been calling for Slowik's removal for most of the season with CJ Stroud and the offense showing significant regression, and Stroud getting repeatedly beat up behind an offensive line constantly baffled by stunts and twists.
To Stroud's credit, he took his fair share of blame for the struggles on offense this season, never throwing the coaches or scheme under the bus.
Which led many people to believe Stroud wanted Slowik to return. CJ even spoke about the challenges of learning a new system and how he didn't know how quarterbacks were able to pick up a new system every couple of years, hoping he wouldn't have to do that.
However, ESPN Houston's Lance Zierlein on Monday spoke about Stroud's relationship with Slowik and if it was really as tight as it appeared to be in press conferences.
Which makes sense on many levels. Stroud had to be losing faith in the offense based on results, and Coach Ryans did not give Slowik much of an endorsement when meeting with the press last week.
There have also been rumors that ownership was frustrated with the state of the offense, after giving Slowik and members of his staff a raise after a terrific 2023 season.
Who could blame them? The offense was the main reason Houston kept getting blown off the field in almost all of their primetime games. The cherry on top had to be the offense getting shutout on Christmas against the Ravens with all the world watching on Netflix.
While we believe Stroud had to give his blessing to move on from Slowik, at the end of the day the decision was DeMeco's. As a defensive coach, watching his offense fail to correct the same mistakes all season long had to drive him nuts.
Who will be the next OC?
KPRC2's Aaron Wilson reported some possible candidates which includeRams passing game coordinator/ tight ends coach Nick Caley, Ohio State OC Chip Kelly, Vikings QB coach Josh McCown, and the Texans current QB coach Jerrod Johnson. Houston also interviewed Syracuse OC Jeff Nixon on Monday.
Personally, I'd rather the team bring in a coordinator with experience. But we'll see which way DeMeco leans soon enough. Hopefully he already had someone in mind before letting Slowik go.
Be sure to watch the video above as we examine what ultimately got Slowik fired, the top OC candidates, and how players and coaches view the opportunities and challenges in Houston.
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Jalen Green had 25 points and Alperen Sengun added 23 to lead the Houston Rockets to a 100-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night in a game where Amen Thompson was ejected for a hard foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The game was tied at 95-all when Sengun made 1 of 2 free throws to put Houston on top. He made two more free throws with 30 seconds left to make it 98-95.
Brook Lopez missed a 3-pointer, but a turnover by Sengun gave the Bucks the ball back and a dunk by Antetokounmpo cut the lead to one with 8.1 seconds to go.
Green added two free throws to make it 100-97 and Damian Lillard was fouled and missed the first free throw before a double lane violation on the second one triggered a jump ball.
Lillard came away with the ball and his 3-point attempt bounced off the rim.
The Bucks were down by 2 with about 4 1/2 minutes left when Thompson pulled Antetokounmpo down from behind by the head and neck as he went up for a shot in the lane. The play was reviewed and determined to be a flagrant foul 2 and Thompson was ejected.
Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bucks, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Takeaways
Bucks: Milwaukee needs to work on offensive consistency after failing to score in the fourth quarter until Lillard made two free throws with about six minutes to go.
Rockets: Houston needs to do a better job of capitalizing on offense when its defense shuts teams down. They only scored seven points in the first six minutes of the fourth when they held Milwaukee scoreless.
Key moment
Sengun’s free throws that put the Rockets up for good.
Key stat
Milwaukee scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Up next
The Rockets host San Antonio on Wednesday night and the Bucks host Denver on Thursday night.
