A key Miami Dolphins assistant was omitted from ESPN list of high-stakes 2026 seasons — but he’s facing a pivotal year
The Miami Dolphins’ external expectations aren’t high but there’s still plenty at stake. Especially for one of the team’s top assistants.
The cast of characters around the 2026 Miami Dolphins offers no shortage of faces with something to prove.
Jon-Eric Sullivan. Jeff Hafley. Malik Willis. The slew of one-year signings in free agency. The list goes on and on. But one of the more compelling ‘prove it’ seasons in South Florida doesn’t belong to any of those names. Because they’re in their shoes for the first time. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik? He’s had this title before and it came with lofty highs and frustrating lows. Despite the stakes, Slowik was left off the ESPN list of the 10 new coordinators facing questions in 2026. I’m not sure he should have been.
Miami Dolphins OC Bobby Slowik omitted from ESPN list of 10 new coordinators facing questions in 2026
Look, I get it. In the grand scale of the NFL conversation on a national scale, the Miami Dolphins aren’t going to naturally come into play early. They’re considered, by many, as an afterthought. A team left to toil in the mess of the last build for an ugly 2026 season. Whether or not that is the team’s actual reality will come to light in the next six months. But make no mistake about it — the stakes are very, very high for offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.
ESPN’s Benjamin Solak put out his list of 10 new coordinators facing questions. It included Ravens OC Declan Doyle, Broncos OC Davis Webb, and others. But Slowik arguably has more at stake than both as an individual. Even if the stakes are higher for Baltimore and Denver as teams firmly in the winning window.
Slowik is a re-tread coordinator. He was once one of the hottest names in the Shanahan coaching pipeline, that after coaching rookie quarterback CJ Stroud to a sensational performance in 2023. The Texans offense fizzled in 2024, though, and Slowik was out. Stroud didn’t look any better in 2025, either — which begs the question of whether or not Slowik was the problem with that 2024 Texans offense.
He’s now 39 years old and commandeering his second NFL offense. The offensive depth chart has a first-time full-timer starting quarterback in Malik Willis. It’s got a star running back in De’Von Achane and a well-invested offensive line. But the skill players are inexperienced and a major question. Slowik’s going to need to recapture some of that 2023 charm if this offense is going to work.
If he doesn’t, he may not get another chance. If he does? Miami will likely outperform those lowly expectations outside the building in 2026. And Slowik’s once lofty trajectory may get back on course after an unexpected detour.
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