Falcons bringing in Texans OC Bobby Slowik for second head coaching interview
The Atlanta Falcons will bring in Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik for a second interview for their open head coaching job this week. With the Texans’ playoff run done, the offensive coordinator is free to travel to see teams in person. He’s also met with the Washington Commanders.
Slowik, 36, has just one season as an offensive coordinator under his belt but he’s become a hot commodity already. The Falcons, at least, are seriously considering making him one of the youngest head coaches in the league by bringing him in for a second interview.
Before joining the Texans, Slowik spent six years as an assistant for the San Francisco 49ers under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Prior to San Francisco, he worked for the Washington Redskins in multiple positions, including defensive assistant under Mike Shanahan.
Led by rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, the Texans finished the regular season 12th in total offense (342.4 yards per game) and 14th in points per game (22.2). One year removed from picking second in the NFL Draft, Houston went 10-7 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
The Falcons have or are interviewing more than a dozen candidates to fill the role left open by Arthur Smith’s firing after the 7-10 finish to the season. Another big name moving on in the process for the job is former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has also had two interviews.
Team owner Arthur Blank has made it clear that his search for the next head coach will be exhaustive. Blank told reporters, “there is no timetable,” to make the hire.
Belichick to Falcons ‘lost momentum’
There is more news surrounding the Atlanta Falcons and former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, the push to agree on a contract between the two has ‘lost momentum in the past week.’
It didn’t take long for Belichick to start garnering attention from other NFL franchises shortly after parting ways with the Patriots. The Falcons show the most interest, quickly setting up two interviews with Belichick, with the first pitch transpiring on the yacht of Atlanta’s owner Arthur Blank. From the reports following the second interview, the only thing that needed to be done was for both parties to sign on the dotted line. However, there are some issues preventing that from happening.
According to sports personality Bill Simmons, that issue is a divide between Blank and the rest of the organization on hiring Belichick.
“Basically, Arthur Blank wants to hire Bill Belichick, and all the front office people in Atlanta don’t want to hire Belichick,” said Simmons on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “… sport franchises are like microcosms of all big companies. The people that run the franchise, they just want to keep their jobs, they’re in job preservation mode.”
On3’s Justin Rudolph contributed to this report.