Stamps' new defensive boss Bob Slowik brings NFL pedigree from Jimmy Johnson and Bill Walsh coaching trees
Bob Slowik, the new Calgary Stampeders defensive coordinator, has been influenced by some of the best in the football biz. Try Jimmy Johnson and Bill Walsh.
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Both legends — and their coaching trees — have provided Slowik with plenty of pigskin knowledge during what's been a lengthy career as a defensive wizard for the Super Bowl XXVII champion in the professional ranks.
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'Fantastic backgrounds for me,' said Slowik, whose eye-popping coaching resumé — including as a defensive assistant for the Super Bowl-winning Dallas Cowboys — reads back to the late 1970s.
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'I'm just hoping what I can bring will help us get better than we were last year and help this organization and this team win football games.'
The Stampeders sure hope so, too, in trying to right the ship after the 2024 CFL campaign that saw them finish with a 5-12-1 record.
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Slowik benefitted from the Stampeders' coaching shake-up following the debacle that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in two decades.
The 71-year-old was bumped up in the organization after spending the last four seasons as — first — defensive assistant for a year and — then — linebackers coach since 2022.
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Before that, he was the defensive coordinator for the Montreal Alouettes for a pair of campaigns, marking his arrival in the three-down ranks.
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SLOWIK OVER THE YEARS
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Slowik's resumé is impressive, indeed.
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After two years as the starting cornerback for the NCAA's Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, the Pittsburgh native became a graduate assistant at his alma mater to start his coaching career.
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From there, he found his footing at higher-profile NCAA Div. 1 schools as a defensive coach, before moving onto the NFL for a prominent 22-year career. The pro highlights included gigs as defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears, the Cleveland Browns, the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos:
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1979-82 – Florida (NCAA) – Defensive backs coaching assistant
1984-89 – Rutgers (NCAA) – Secondary coach
1990-91 – East Carolina University (NCAA) – Outside linebackers coach
1992 – Dallas Cowboys (NFL) – Defensive assistant
1993-98 – Chicago Bears (NFL) – Defensive coordinator
1999 – Cleveland Browns (NFL) – Defensive coordinator
2000-01 – Green Bay Packers (NFL) – Defensive backs coach
2002-03 – Green Bay Packers (NFL) – Assistant head coach/Defensive backs coach
2004 – Green Bay Packers (NFL) – Defensive coordinator
2005-06 – Denver Broncos (NFL) – Defensive backs coach
2007-08 – Denver Broncos (NFL) – Defensive coordinator
2010-11 – Washington Redskins (NFL) – Defensive backs coach
2012-13 – Washington Redskins (NFL) – Linebackers coach
2019-20 – Montreal Alouettes (CFL) – Defensive coordinator
2021 – Calgary Stampeders (CFL) – Defensive assistant
2022-24 – Calgary Stampeders (CFL) – Linebackers coach
2025 – Calgary Stampeders (CFL) – Defensive coordinator
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