Former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is joining the Miami Dolphins as senior passing game coordinator, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Slowik, 37, was a rising head coach candidate last year after Houston's instant success with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud . He now reunites with Mike McDaniel in Miami.
Stroud regressed in 2024, however, and head coach DeMeco Ryans made the tough decision to fire Slowik.
"It was very hard to let Bobby go. Bobby is a really close friend as you all know," Ryans told the Houston media .
Despite the rough ending in Houston, Slowik is still considered one of the brightest offensive minds in league circles.
It's unlikely that the Steelers considered adding Slowik, but he could have been an ideal fit to help offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in the passing game. Similar to how Brian Flores played an important role as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022. Slowik had a past connection with McDaniel in San Francisco , so it might have not mattered if the Steelers did expressed interest, however.
Steelers team president Art Rooney II was rather blunt when asked during his season-ending press conference about the Steelers having one of the smallest coaching staffs in the NFL . He thinks the size of the staff is the least of the team's problems.
"I don't see that holding us back," Rooney said on Monday during his season recap press conference. "I don't think that's a problem."
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thinks the Steelers should look into expanding the staff, however, but he understands that there's a cost with doing so. And the Rooneys might not want to give up that kind of money.
"Absolutely. There's a lot of room for that," Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast when asked by co-host Spencer Te'o if the Steelers should expand the coaching staff. "Expand the strength and conditioning staff. Expand the training staff. Expand equipment staff, all that stuff. But that's money. And we all know that the Rooneys aren't putting a lot of extra into that stuff. That's just, they've just never done it that way. So we don't expect that to change."
Rooney said the Steelers have 27 coaches on their staff, but the on-field number of coaches listed in the team's media guide is only 19. Rooney may be counting unlisted coaches like former Steelers linebackers Vince Williams and Ryan Shazier , who worked with the team's defensive line and running backs this season, as well as the strength and conditioning staff.
Rooney will look into expanding the staff, but it doesn't appear to be a hot-button issue for him.
"I wouldn't dismiss anything other than maybe a bigger coaching staff. I'm not sure that's the answer. Our coaching staff has grown and that's a similar size for staff around the League," Rooney said. "I don't think we're outliers in that regard. On the analytic side, we have invested on that side and got more people in that department than we have ever had, but we look at opportunities and technology changes. We'll have the opportunity to give ourselves better resources on that front, and we'll certainly look at it."
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