Texans' HC DeMeco Ryans weighed in on the 'very hard' decision to fire Bobby Slowik, what the offense can look like with Nick Caley
The Houston Texans were already forced to make a tough decision this offseason after moving on from offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.The move was a necessary one after watching the offense, and quarterback C.J. Stroud, take a major step backwards from what they showed the season before, even if the team still managed to win the […]
The Houston Texans were already forced to make a tough decision this offseason after moving on from offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.
The move was a necessary one after watching the offense, and quarterback C.J. Stroud, take a major step backwards from what they showed the season before, even if the team still managed to win the AFC South and their first playoff matchup.
That decision proves how harsh this league can be on a year-to-year basis and the Texans will be hoping this tough decision was the right one to make.
Moving on from Slowik following the playoff exit was especially hard on head coach DeMeco Ryans, who worked up the coaching ranks alongside Slowik with the San Francisco 49ers and trusted him to be in charge of the team's offense.
"It was very hard to let Bobby go," Ryans said on Thursday. "Bobby's a really close friend, as you all know, Bobby's a great friend of mine. When I got into coaching, Bobby was the guy who helped me figure it all out and we were [quality control coaches] together, there, in San Fran. So, really long relationship there with him. Nothing but love and admiration for Bobby and what he's done."
In his first season as the offensive coordinator on Ryan's staff in 2023, the Texans ranked in the Top-15 in points per game scored and yards per game. Stroud posted one of the best rookie seasons ever by a quarterback and set numerous records.
Things took a drastic turn in 2024 with struggles mainly persisting on the offensive line. The unit also faced multiple injuries to top offensive stars such as Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Stefon Diggs, and Joe Mixon.
Given all the injuries, perhaps Slowik deserved another year to right the ship and get the offense back on track. However, it seemed like his scheme had grown stale, and predictable, in his second season and he failed to innovate it enough to reach the next level. Because of that, the players began losing confidence in the man calling plays.
As a result, Nick Caley now comes in as the new offensive coordinator from the highly touted Sean McVay coaching tree. The 2025 season will be Caley's first opportunity calling his own offense, even though McVay delegated some work to him from time to time in order to help develop his young assistant.
"I feel really strong in my conviction that [Caley] can lead us and get us over the hump," Ryans added. "We've had a lot of good success these first two years, and the reason we're doing it is I think there's another level that we can go to. I said earlier, it's my job to take this organization to new heights, and I think hiring Nick will help us to get there."
Caley started his NFL coaching career in New England under Bill Belichick as a tight ends coach before joining McVay in Los Angeles. Given his background, it was no surprise to see Caley express the importance of the fundamentals and doing the little things right, first and foremost.
As for the scheme, Caley will take some of what he learned from both stops in New England and Los Angeles, but ultimately he's excited about making an offense that fits what the roster needs to be successful.
"I am really excited to evolve this scheme," Caley explained. "It's not going to be my spin, it's going to be what's best for our players. We aren't pounding a square peg into a round hole."
The offense of course starts with Caley's connection with his new quarterback. Caley praised Stroud's competitiveness and arm talent along with saying the young star has "the 'it' factor."
Time will tell if this decision was the right one to make for the future of this offense. It's a major gamble to make, but clearly one that Ryans and the rest of the organization were comfortable making to kick off the offseason.
Future Hall of Famer can help fix Texans’ biggest weakness but there’s one important hurdle that needs to be cleared
Even though the Houston Texans won a playoff game in 2024, it was still a disappointing year. The offensive regression is big reason why the Texans didn't live up to expectations and on a more granular level, the offensive line was the catalyst behind the unit's struggles as a whole. Per ESPN, the Texans offensive […]
