DeMeco Ryans breaks silence on 'tough decision' with Bobby Slowik

The Houston Texans held a press conference on Thursday to introduce new offensive coordinator Nick Caley.

With ties to general manager Nick Caserio from their New England Days, the selection of Caley made plenty of sense. He also worked under Sean McVay the past two seasons, which goes back to their Shanahan tree.

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As much sense as the hire made, it wasn't an easy decision for head coach DeMeco Ryans. He and Slowik have worked together for many years and developed a strong friendship. That was one of the reasons it was hard for Ryans to pull the trigger.

“It was very hard to let Bobby go,” Ryans said during Caley’s introductory press conference. “Bobby’s a really close friend, as you all know, Bobby’s a great friend of mine. Nothing but love and admiration for Bobby and what he’s done. I know he’ll be a really good coach in this league as he continues to press forward in his career. And I wish him nothing but the best.”

Ryans added he had nothing but admiration for Slowik, who went from a hot head coach candidate to someone being ripped for his predictable play-calling.

Not everyone thinks Slowik was the problem, however. Conor Orr of SI.com believes he was a scapegoat for quarterback C.J. Stroud, who escaped much of the blame.

Slowik landed on his feet as he joined the Miami Dolphins where he will work as their senior passing game coordinator. As was the case when he was hired by Ryans, Slowik worked with Miami head coach Mike McDaniel in San Francisco.

Right now, we can only guess who deserves the most blame for the offensive decline in 2024. That will change when the season begins and we see if Stroud looks like the player we saw in 2023 rather than the one who struggled this past season.

Even if he does excel, it's still going to bother Ryans that it didn't work out with Slowik.