Texans OC Bobby Slowik back home in Green Bay to face Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Bob Slowik didn't have much time to chat this week. The 70-year-old former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator was doing what he's always done.

"I coach linebackers for Calgary in the CFL," he said in a text message. "I'm on my way to Hamilton, Ontario. I've got travel and meetings."

There would be no anecdotes about his son, young Bobby, as a kid at Green Bay Southwest High School in the early 2000s; or current Bobby, the 37-year-old offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans during the week of his return to Lambeau Field to face the Packers on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

"I'm sure Bobby will enjoy seeing and traveling to a very familiar place he truly cherishes with all the great memories growing up," said Bob, who coached Packers defensive backs from 2000 to 2003 and was the defensive coordinator for the 2004 season only to be fired after one season in that role.

Slowik finished high school in Green Bay, graduating in 2005, and played Division II football at nearby Michigan Tech University.

"I got nothing but great memories about Green Bay," Slowik said Thursday during his weekly session with reporters in Houston.

Except there was this one time ...

"I was in the stands at one game, I think I was in like eighth grade or something like that, and the Packers got down early by like 21 points," Slowik recalled. "And I remember the fans next to me were so ... I just couldn't take the negativity anymore. I walked right out of the stadium, walked a mile and a half to my house."

None of that will matter in Sunday's game between two of the top teams in the NFL, the 5-1 Texans and the 4-2 Packers, but there are things in Slowik's past that might.

He has more than just the youthful connection to the Packers. He was on the same coaching staff as Packers coach Matt LaFleur in Washington from 2010 to 2013, when Slowik was actually on the defensive side of the ball as an assistant. That staff in Washington under head coach Mike Shanahan included future NFL head coaches Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris and LaFleur.

Slowik might be the next one to join that list. He interviewed for five head-coaching jobs this past offseason after his first year as the Texans' offensive coordinator.

"It's been cool to see his transformation," LaFleur said this week. "Matter of fact, he was more involved with our video when he first [came in Washington]. So it just shows you how much work he's put into it. Certainly his dad being a D-coordinator in this league and his brother coaching for a long time in this league, as well. But it's a credit to him.

"Always knew he was a smart guy, and it's not a surprise to me that he's been able to have the success that he's had. He's learned from some really good people, but he's taken advantage of the opportunity."

There's another connection that might more directly impact Sunday's game. Slowik calls plays for defensive-minded Texans coach Demeco Ryans (who, incidentally, was a player in Houston when LaFleur was on the Texans staff in 2008 and 2009), which means he will coach directly against first-year Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who overlapped two seasons with Slowik on the San Francisco 49ers staff under Kyle Shanahan. In 2017 and 2018, Slowik was a defensive quality control coach and Hafley a defensive backs coach.

It wasn't until after the 2018 season, when Hafley left to be the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, that Slowik moved to the other side of the ball as an offensive assistant. In his first season as the Texans' offensive coordinator last season, Houston finished in the top 10 in both yards per game and passing yards per game, while quarterback C.J. Stroud was named Offensive Rookie of the Year.

"Probably could just as easily be a defensive coordinator," Hafley said of Slowik. "It's no surprise to me that Kyle said, 'You know what? This guy is really smart.'

"I left and went to Ohio State, and then [Slowik] gives me a call and said Kyle is [moving me to] offense. So Kyle stole him on offense and taught him for a few years. Slowik's got a great background on defense and now he's an offensive coordinator."

ESPN Texans reporter DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.