DJ Bien-Aime
HOUSTON – The Texans have fired offensive coordinator Bobby Sloik after two years in Houston, sources told ESPN on Friday. Houston also added that decisions on the rest of the offensive staff will be made once the team hires a new offensive coordinator, including offensive line coach Chris Strouser and assistant offensive line coach Cole Popovich. I was fired.
The Texans won the AFC South (10-7) in 2024 and reached the divisional round for the second consecutive season, but the offense struggled throughout the year. On Monday after the season ended, coach DeMeco Ryan said he wanted to take a week to evaluate his staff, and when asked about Sloki’s performance, he gave a brief, non-ringing endorsement. did.
“Overall with Bobby, I think I’ve seen some growth,” Lyons said. “We saw some improvement throughout the year.”
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Ryan also discussed how the Texans offense needs to improve, as it ranked 18th in scoring (22.1) and 16th in total offense (329 yards per game). I mentioned that there is. The most surprising aspect of the attack was the passing protection. Quarterback CJ Stroud had 52 sacks (second-most) and was pressured on 38.6% of his dropbacks (third-most according to NFL Next Gen Stats).
Compounding Stroud’s 38.6% pressure rate was his 2.59 time to pressure rate, seventh-fastest according to Next Gen Stats. The pass protection struggled with the defensive twists and stunts that opposing defenses threw at them, leading to 52 unblocked pressures (second on second).
As a result, Stroud regressed statistically from a strong rookie year. He finished 15th in passing yards (3,727) and 15th in passing touchdowns (20) after having 4,108 yards (8th in the NFL) with 23 touchdowns (13th) in two games as a sophomore. I got the rank. And that’s having a Pro Bowl teammate in left tackle Rami Tunsil, running back Joe Mixon and wideout Nico Collins.
Beyond Stroud, the Texans offense has struggled for huge stretches this year. The second half was a big problem for the offense as they averaged 7.5 points per second half. From Weeks 7 to 12, the Texans did not score an offensive touchdown.
Come 2024, there were high hopes for the Texans offense with the addition of Pro Bowl wideouts Stefon Diggs and Mixon. Diggs tore his ACL in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts, but even with Mixon rushing for 1,018 yards, the offense always felt challenged, especially in key situations. The offense was 17th in third downs (38.9) and 28th in red zone scoring (48.4).
“Overall, offensively, it wasn’t where we wanted to be,” Ryan said. “There were challenges throughout the year. It’s been a challenge every year. You have challenges. You have the ups and downs of trying to figure out the course and figure out who we have, how to make it work. Yes, we need to improve.”
Slowik was Ryans’ first offensive hire in 2023 after spending six years with the San Francisco 49ers. In the duo’s first season in Houston, the Texans flourished offensively, becoming just the fifth rookie to pass for 4,000 yards in a season, and improving their yards per game (274) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (23). Highlighted by leading the league: :5), accomplished only by quarterbacks Joe Montana and Tom Brady.
