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Slowik and the offense



Here are some things I’m hearing:

What are the Texans looking for?

One of the biggest decisions the Texans are trying to make, according to two league sources, is figuring out whether they want to run a spread/run-pass option type of offense or stay within Mike and Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay system, which they’ve run the past two years.

Jerrod Johnson, Caley and Udinski, in particular,represent a continuation of the Shanahan/McVay system.

Candidates like Lazor — who has called plays for the Dolphins, Bengals and Bears — Nixon and Johnson represent more of a spread and RPO style of offense that the Texans feel could also benefit C.J. Stroud’s strengths.

In addition, sources told me that head coach DeMeco Ryans is leading the OC search, and he’s looking for someone who will be strong in the run game and complement and help Stroud.

I get the sense the Texans will seek Stroud’s input before making the final decision, which could happen as soon as Sunday. The Texans want to build the offense around him and his skill set. Most important is making sure Stroud is comfortable with what the coordinator is running.

Towards the end of their tenure together, there was a sense around the building that Stroud and Slowik disagreed on how to best use him. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a disagreement of minds.

But there were some people who felt like Stroud was being boxed in and restricted in his second season under Slowik, which didn’t allow for Stroud to be himself. Whereas in his first season, the offense felt more tailored toward his strengths and he made a lot of his plays out of the structure of the offense.

Why not Chip Kelly?

After talking with someone who’s worked with Kelly, I get the sense that while they don’t expect him to be a college coach much longer and will eventually pursue a path back to the NFL, Kelly doesn’t necessarily feel he needs to leave Ohio State right now.

He’s in a good situation coming off a national championship as the play-caller for the Buckeyes, with a new quarterback in Julian Sayin, who was a five-star prospect. Kelly could have another successful year with the Buckeyes, and his stock would increase even further.

How do the Texans feel about him? I don’t know. But if they did really want him over others, they could probably help make it happen.

What I do know is at his introductory press conference, Ryans spoke highly of Kelly, his former coach with the Eagles, in being an innovator and trying new things.

And Kelly’s spread offense is one the Texans are looking at.

I talked to a couple of league sources who cautioned against Kelly, however. They had nothing bad to say about the person, but they pointed to how his short stints in the NFL failed.

He spent three years in Philadelphia before he was fired, then was fired after one year in San Francisco in 2016.

Those sources said based on that, nothing would give them confidence that it could all of a sudden work if he became the offensive coordinator in Houston.

There was also the fact that not everything was great at Ohio State. After Ohio State’s loss to Michigan in November, it looked like Kelly could be fired if the Buckeyes didn't win the national championship. Fortunately, Kelly was able to turn things around.

Rhule on Nixon and Udinski

… I asked Rhule why he thinks Nixon would make a good offensive coordinator for the Texans.

“He called plays at Baylor. He called plays in Carolina at the end of 2021. He crushed it at Syracuse,” Rhule said in a text. “He is smart, aggressive and has a system he believes in that’s excellent.”

Under Rhule, Udinski was a graduate assistant at Baylor and then a coaching assistant for two years (2020-21) with the Panthers.

“Grant is highly intelligent, capable, and is a gifted young coach,” Rhule said.

Would Udinski make a good OC? “Yeah, he would,” Rhule said.

Udinski is a hot name on the coaching circuit. He has reportedly interviewed for four other OC jobs.

Brian Johnson interviewed Friday

…

Caley-Caserio connection

Caley is the current tight ends coach and passing game coordinator with the Rams, where he has been since 2023. He interviewed for the offensive coordinator job in 2023 before the Texans ultimately hired Slowik, a source said.

Before that, he was with the Patriots, where he worked with general manager Nick Caserio from 2015-20.

Caley also attended Caserio’s alma mater, John Carroll University. They have a close relationship. And for the Texans to interview him again, obviously means they think highly of him.

Caley is also a hot name on the coaching circuit. Caserio is not taking the lead role on the search, but he’ll have input.

Jerrod Johnson’s situation

Johnson’s situation is interesting. The Texans were basically grooming him to be the successor to Slowik after a successful first season when Stroud won offensive rookie of the year.

He called plays in two games during the preseason, according to a source. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell told Ryans and Caserio it was a no-brainer to hire Johnson.

But he’s unfortunately — whether it’s deserved or not — tied to the struggles in the passing game this season.

If Ryans doesn’t hire Johnson as his offensive coordinator, it’ll be interesting to see what happens. Ryans is leaving it up to the new offensive coordinator to decide what his staff will look like after being hired.

If the new coordinator does not retain Johnson, the Texans could miss out on a chance to earn compensatory picks if Johnson were to leave them for a head coaching job. Teams that develop minority candidates who become head coaches or general managers elsewhere receive third-round compensatory picks each of the next two years.

One thing Ryans could do — and some coaches have done in the past — is make it a requirement that Johnson remains the quarterbacks coach. It’s uncertain if he would entertain that.

But I wonder how Johnson would feel about that if he’s not given the job. It’s hard to imagine he’d be happy about it.
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zshawn10 said:
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Good article. I hope Demeco goes with Spread-RPO. We have QB and Nico which would be great in that offense. Of course we need to add targets for CJ but that will happen in any offense. " the Texans feel like the spread-rpo will benefit Stroud "so why is there any further discussion as to which scheme? Of course ask Stroud which he prefers but is he going to say 'no go with the ZBS which does not highlight my strengths."?

Chip Kelly: he would rather take a unproven quarterback and mould or take a former Ohio State Stroud with all his known NFL abilities with a good chance of going to the Super Bowl? 🤣

Kelly 61 can coach easily another five to eight years if he chooses. There is no reason for him to retire at either level. He gets paid 2.1 million 2025 2.2 million in 26. The article says that if the Texans want Kelly they should go get him and I agree.
 
Lucky said:
Not going to lie, but going all internal was not the answer I was looking for. Not inspirational.
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Agree. I don't know the behind-the-scenes dynamics. Maybe Slowik wasn't open to constructive feedback. However, they were on the staff who couldn't or wouldn't fix fundamental issues with the offense that even posters on this forum were recognizing as glaring issues.
 
This was a very insightful analysis from Chris Simms before the Texans played the Lions. So, it's not piling on or hindsight is 20/20. IMHO, it's the best breakdown of what went wrong with the 2024 offense.

Simms discusses the issues with the offense, the slide protections, blitz pickups, pulling OGs against the wrong defensive front, the QB processing and coaching. Listening to his analysis, it highlights so many issues with the offense that was not getting addressed during the season and eventually led to Slowik getting fired.

 
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