Bobby Slowik did a lot of great things during his first year as the Houston Texans’ offensive coordinator, and his success was validated by being named a finalist for 2023 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.
Slowik didn’t win the award, though, after Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz took home the accolade. He ended up finishing fourth in voting when all was said in done. He ranked behind Schwartz, former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator (now Seattle Seahawks head coach) Mike Macdonald and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
AP ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
1st place: 5 points
2nd place: 3 points
3rd place: 1 point
Jim Schwartz 25-10-5 = 160
Mike MacDonald 11-11-6 = 94
Ben Johnson 6-10-5 = 65
Bobby Slowik 4-7-12 = 53
Todd Monken 3-8-7 = 46
Steve Spagnuolo 1-3-2 = 16
Raheem Morris…— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 9, 2024
Regardless of how the voting turn out, Slowik had a great first year running the Texan’s offense. He orchestrated a system that rose to the top of the AFC South and scored 31 offensive points against Schwartz’s Browns defense in the wild card round. Even more, Slowik helped C.J. Stroud develop into one of the best quarterbacks in the league in 2023.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans knows this award all too well after he won it as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator in 2022.
Slowik’s unit didn’t have gaudy numbers, but they did all this with a lot of first-year and/or new players across the roster. Stroud was a rookie, wideout Tank Dell was a rookie and star contributors like tight end Dalton Schultz and running back Devin Singletary had just joined the team that offseason. In the end, the Texans’ offense finished 13th in points, 12th in points per play, seventh-most passing yards and sixth in first downs.
Slowik did so well as a first-time offensive play-caller that several teams interviewed him for their vacant head-coaching positions. Ultimately, Slowik and quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson elected to return to Houston on new deals to take another stab at the division and a deeper playoff berth.