Bob Slowik
Defensive Backs Coach
14th NFL Season (First with Broncos)
Bob Slowik begins his first season as defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos in 2005 and his 14thyear as an NFL coach. Slowik, who has 28 years of coaching experience, officially joined the Broncos’ staff Feb. 1, 2005.
Slowik, 50, most recently served as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinatorin 2004 and coached the team’s defensive backs from 2000-03. He has eight years’ experience as an NFL defensive coordinator, working in that capacity for the Cleveland Browns in 1999 and Chicago Bears from 1993-98, and has coached five Pro Bowl selections.
In 2004, Slowik’s unit ranked ninth in the NFL in third-down defense (35.0%) for the Packers’ best percentage in that categorysince the 1997 season while it lead the league in red zone third-down defense (23.8%). Additionally,he instructed a defense that recorded five touchdowns to also mark the franchise’s best total in seven seasons. Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila excelled in Slowik’s scheme, posting 13.5 sacks to rank third in the NFL and tie a career high.
In four seasons (2000-03) coaching Green Bay’s defensive backs, he developed one of the NFL’s most exciting and productive secondaries. Slowik, who also was the Packers’ assistant head coach from 2002-03, helped Green Bay post the highest takeaway total (116) in the NFL from 2001-03. The 2002 Packers defense produced 45 takeaways for the league’s best mark while the 2001 unit tied for the NFL’s second-highest takeaway total with 39.
His secondary led a 2003 defense that held opponents to a 69.0 passer rating for the fifth-best total in the NFL and tied for seventh in the NFL with four takeaways in the red zone. The Packers produced 21 interceptions (fourth-best in the NFC) in 2003 thanks largely in part to the production of Slowik’s defensive backs and allowed only 307 points for the fifth-lowest total in the conference.
Under Slowik’s guidance, Packers safety Darren Sharper developed into one of the premiere defensive players in the NFL and earned two Pro Bowl and Associated Press All-Pro selections (2000 and ‘02). Sharper earned consensus Pro Bowl honors and was named All-Pro in 2000 when he posted a career-best nine interceptions to lead the NFL and become the first Packer in 38 years to accomplish that feat. In the five seasons Slowik coached on the Packers’ defensive staff, Sharper accumulated 31 interceptions for the top mark in the NFL during that period (five better than the next closest player).
Before working one year as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator during their 1999 expansion season when he directed the league’s No. 11 pass defense, he spent six years (1993-98) as the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator. In addition to his duties as defensive coordinator, Slowik coached the Bears’ secondary during his first three years in Chicago and instructed their linebackers in his final three seasons.
Slowik led an aggressive Bears defense that finished in the top half of the NFL in total defense in five of his six seasons. Despite not having a single Pro Bowl player from 1994-98, his defense allowed an average of 312.8 yards per game to rank eighth in the NFL during his time with the club.
In his first season with the Bears in 1993, three of his defenders – defensive end Rich Dent, safety Mark Carrier and cornerback Donnell Woolford – earned a trip to the Pro Bowl. Collectively, Slowik guided the 1993 defense to the No. 4 ranking in the NFL by allowing only 290.8 yards per game. Led by Carrier and Woolford, Slowik’s pass defense ranked No. 3 in the NFL in 1993 and gave up only 176.1 yards per game.
He joined the Bears after spending the 1992 season as a defensive assistant with the Dallas Cowboys. Slowik primarily worked with the Cowboys’ nickel defense under defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt, whom he would go on to work for in Chicago. Dallas went 16-3 to win Super Bowl XXVII with Slowik on its staff, leading the NFL in total defense and limiting offenses to a league-low 27.2 percent success rate on third-down conversions. The Cowboys’ pass defense ranked No. 5 in the NFL (167.9 yards/game).
Before entering the NFL, he served as a college assistant for 15 seasons.
Slowik coached outside linebackers at EastCarolinaUniversity (1990-91) and helped the 1991 Pirates to an 11-1 record and a final national ranking of No. 9, both tops in school history. He was named the school’s defensive coordinatorin January 1992 following its Peach Bowl victory against North CarolinaStateUniversity but soon resigned to take the Cowboys’ position.
Before working as Rutgers’ secondary coach from 1984-89, Slowik held the same assignment at DrakeUniversity in 1983. He was a part-time defensive assistant at the University of Florida from 1979-82, where his wife, Carol, was the head women’s track coach. Slowik worked on the Gators’ coaching staff with Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan from 1980-82 when Shanahan was its offensive coordinator.
A two-year starting cornerback at Delaware, Slowik helped the Blue Hens to a 16-6 mark in his final two seasons and a trip to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs as a senior. He began his coaching career in 1977 as a graduate assistant at Delaware and remained in that position for two years.
Born May 16, 1954, in Pittsburgh, Slowik was a high school football teammate of current University of Pittsburgh Head Coach Dave Wannstedt at BaldwinHigh School in Pittsburgh. Slowik and his wife, Carol, have four children: Ryan, Andrea, Bobby and Steven. Bobby will play wide receiver at Division II Michigan Tech University beginning in 2005. Carol was a former two-time track All-American at Delaware and belongs to the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
Coaching Experience:
2005: Defensive Backs, Denver Broncos
2004: Defensive Coordinator, Green Bay Packers
2002-03: Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Backs, Green Bay Packers
2000-01: Defensive Backs, Green Bay Packers
1999: Defensive Coordinator, Cleveland Browns
1993-98: Defensive Coordinator, Chicago Bears
1992: Defensive Assistant, Dallas Cowboys
1990-91: Outside Linebackers, East Carolina University
1984-89: Secondary, Rutgers
1983: Secondary, Drake University
1979-82: Defensive Assistant, University of Florida
1977-78: Graduate Assistant, University of Delaware