New Coach Bobby Slowik: Texans' X-Factor?

The Houston Texans offense offers striking similarities to when Bobby Slowik took the offensive coordinator position with the San Francisco 49ers

CBS Sports' Jared Dubin selected Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik as Houston's offensive X-Factor for the upcoming season.

In 2022, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers while Slowik was their offensive coordinator. After Ryans was hired by the Texans, he brought Slowik with him to help develop the offense.

Slowik ran a unique offense in San Francisco as the 49ers ran the ball on 48.65 percent of snaps, the sixth-highest rate in the NFL.

Running back Christian McCaffrey constantly had the ball in his hands, tight end George Kittle was proficient in both the air and blocking games, left tackle Trent Williams was among the best at his position and they were led by rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.

Hey Texans fans, does this sound familiar?

In 2022, Texans running back Dameon Pierce was among the top half of the league in carries as a rookie, tight end Dalton Schultz was top-10 at his position in receiving yards and run blocking grade, left tackle Laremy Tunsil made it to the Pro Bowl and they will all be led by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud in 2023.

Slowik truly fits into this system and it seems Ryans noticed before anybody.

Despite the similarities, the Texans and 49ers finished with nearly opposite records in 2022, as Houston struggled at pretty much every other position while San Francisco sent six players to the Pro Bowl. Dubin explained that Slowik is the offense's X-factor because he's in charge of improving those offensive positions.

"With Houston not having nearly the same pass-catching (or offensive line) talent that the Niners have, it will be a challenge for Slowik to replicate that success," Dubin said. "We're about to see if he and the Texans are up for it".

---

You can follow Hunter De Siver on Twitter @HunterDeSiver

Want the latest in breaking and insider news for the Houston Texans? Click Here

Follow Texans Daily on Twitter and Facebook

Make sure to subscribe to our daily podcast @LockedOnTexans today! Click here To Listen.

Want even more Houston Texans news? Check out the SI.com team page here.