'Damning Evidence': Cowboys Ex Ray Horton Joins Coach Brian Flores NFL Racism Lawsuit
FRISCO - This week, Brian Flores’ class-action lawsuit against the NFL added more ammunition, with Ray Horton and Steve Wilks joining the suit.
It is the allegation of Horton, the former Dallas Cowboys defensive back and NFL assistant coach, that he was part of a “sham” interview for the Tennessee Titans head coaching job in 2016.
Is Horton's claim credible? Some remarks from former Titans coach Mike Mularkey add credence.
“I allowed myself at one point when I was in Tennessee to get caught up in something I regret it and I still regret it,” Mularkey said on the Steelers Realm podcast.
“But the ownership there, Amy Adams Strunk and her family, came in and told me I was going be the head coach in 2016 before they went through the Rooney Rule.”
The Titans responded by releasing a statement on the allegations. The team is claiming it conducted an “open and competitive” head coaching search.''
“Our 2016 head coach search was an open and competitive process during which we conducted in-person interviews with four candidates and followed all NFL rules,” the Titans told ESPN. “The organization was undecided on its next head coach during the process and made its final decision after consideration of all four candidates following the completion of the interviews.”
Horton, 61, played in the NFL for a decade, and was a safety in Dallas from 1989 to 1992. He has worked largely as a defensive coordinator in the league for more than a decade.
Flores' claim is tied to this offseason coaching carousel, in which he was fired from his job as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and then was interviewed for the top jobs with the Giants and Texans. It is Flores' claim that those franchises had already decided to hire someone else, but that they conducted interviews with him in order to fulfill the requirements of the Rooney Rule.
In an additional comment to ESPN, Mularkey said, “I believe you have the truth and what you need.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is among the many NFL powerbrokers admitting the league has a problem with its hiring practices. "We can do better,'' Jones recently said.
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