Ray

Horton

In the decision, the court writes that “an arbitration forum in which the defendant’s (NFL’s) own chief executive gets to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law,” while adding that “it is long overdue for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral and transparent forum for these issues to be addressed.” Flores first filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Dolphins, Giants, and Broncos, for conducting “sham” interviews with him in 2022 to satisfy the league’s hiring rules. Wilks and Horton later add their names to the complaint and named the Cardinals and Titans. Should this head to open court, a trial would likely be set to take place where both sides will be heard before a jury ultimately decides if the league discriminated against Flores, Wilks, and Horton during various interview processes.

Wilks, formerly the head coach of the Cardinals, alleges that he was hired as a “bridge coach,” was not given a chance to succeed, and was “unfairly and discriminatorily fired after just one season.” Following Wilks’ firing, the Cardinals extended GM Steve Keim and hired a head coach with a losing college record, Kliff Kingsbury, both of whom are white. Horton alleges that he was subjected to a sham interview by the Titans, purely to comply with the Rooney rule. The Titans instead hired Mike Mularkey, who admitted in a podcast interview in 2016 that the Titans told him he would be named head coach before “they went through this fake hiring process.” Brian Flores has claimed he was subjected to a similar sham interview by the Giants, who had already settled on Brian Daboll as their new head coach. He has also claimed that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him $100,000 for every loss during the 2019 season to help Miami secure a better draft spot, a claim that would be extraordinarily damaging if proven.

An NFL coordinator from 2011-16, Horton will apparently be put in charge of running the entire pass defense. It ends the Redskins’ not-at-all-subtle offseason search to lessen DC Greg Manusky’s power. It’s unclear why the team simply did not fire a coordinator whose performance it clearly was not happy with.

Mort adds that Chargers TEs coach Jason Michael is the favorite for the Titans OC job. FOX’s Jay Glazer reports the Titans have officially requested permission to interview Horton. Horton and Whisenhunt have worked together in the past. Horton was the DBs coach in Pittsburgh when Whisenhunt ran the offense. In 2011, Whisenhunt brought Horton over to the Cardinals to run his defense. Whisenhunt wants to run the 3-4 in Tennessee, which is what Horton prefers. Horton oversaw one of the league’s most underrated units in Cleveland this past season. He’s an aggressive play-caller. Akeem Ayers could be a nice fit at 3-4 OLB.

Horton has yet to be technically fired from his Browns gig, but will likely be cut loose whenever Cleveland finally gets around to naming Rob Chudzinski’s replacement. Horton oversaw one of the league’s better defenses in 2013, and has whipped up aggressive, swarming units during his three-year coordinating career. It’s surprising he didn’t draw more interest as a head-coaching candidate.

The deal will become official on Tuesday. Some contract issues still need to be worked out between Horton and the Browns, but the 53-year-old will be running the show on the defensive side of the ball in Tennessee next season. Horton and coach Ken Whisenhunt have worked together in Pittsburgh and Arizona in the past. The Titans will be making the switch to the 3-4 defense. On paper, Akeem Ayers seems likely to be one of the main beneficiaries. He has plus pass-rush skills and projects to play outside ‘backer. Zach Brown could fill the Daryl Washington role at inside linebacker. However Horton decides to employ his players, we do know it’s going to be an aggressive, attacking group.

It’s incredibly rare for just-fired coordinators and position coaches to immediately get head-coaching jobs, but Horton could be the exception. His defenses have regularly played above their talent levels and he has a Steelers background, which could appeal to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who also has ties to Pittsburgh. Horton may also be likely to retain OC Norv Turner, as Turner coached him as a player in Dallas and gave him his first coaching job in ’94.

“No,” Jackson said flatly when asked about Horton getting fired, “and I say that with no question.” The Browns have a bottom-three defense which seems to be getting worse, and Horton has not had much success as a coordinator in the last three seasons. Talent bears much of the blame for the Browns’ struggles, however, meaning Horton should get at least another year to turn the ship around.

The Browns were one of the worst defenses under Horton, but there wasn’t much talent to work with. His blitz-heavy scheme managed just 26 sacks and ranked near the bottom of the league in both total yards and points per game (28.3) Horton was also fired after a one year stint in Cleveland back in 2013. The Browns are reportedly interested in Gregg Williams and Wade Phillips to replace Horton.

Former Rams DC Gregg Williams will replace him. Signed away from Tennessee last offseason, this will be Horton’s second one-and-done stint with the Browns after he was fired following the 2013 season. Horton has coordinated for three different teams in the last five seasons including the two stints with the Browns, but none of his units have finished inside the top-16 in points allowed. It is unlikely he gets a shot to run another defense next season.