INDIANAPOLIS — DeMeco Ryans didn’t bring Bobby Slowik to the Houston Texans simply because he was a San Francisco 49ers connection.
Ryans and Slowik began their 49ers tenure together as defensive quality control coaches in 2017 under rookie coach Kyle Shanahan. Slowik left the defensive side after the 2018 season and went over the offense as an assistant. In 2021, he was the offensive pass game specialist before becoming the offensive passing game coordinator in 2022.
“Bobby is a tremendous coach,” Ryans said at the NFL combine Wednesday. “He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around. He’s always looking to grow and looking to learn more. Bobby has helped me as a coach grow.”
Following his one year as defensive quality control coach in 2017, Ryans became the 49ers’ inside linebackers coach for the next three seasons. For the past two seasons until accepting the job as the Texans’ coach, Ryans was San Francisco’s defensive coordinator.
The time Ryans spent with Slowik also allowed him to see what type of interactions he can have with players, which has Ryans enthused about the offseason program that begins April 3.
“I’m very excited to see Bobby get with our players,” Ryans said. “Guys are going to be fired up. He brings great energy. He’s a great teacher. The guys he’s been around, they love him.”
