Titans Now a Prime Target in Lawsuit on NFL Hiring

The Tenne see Titans are now caught up in the lawsuit that alleges NFL franchises conduct interviews with minority candidates with no intention to hire those candidates as head coaches. Ray Horton, the Titans defensive coordinator in 2014-15, is one of two coaches who filed earlier this offseason by former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores.Horton interviewed to be the Titans head coach in 2016, but the man who got the job, Mike Mularkey, publicly admitted more than a Jerry Rice Jersey year and a half ago that the decision was made before interviews took place. His legal filing points to a Steelers Realm podcast in 2020 when Mularkey said that controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk made him aware the team planned to conduct what he said was effectively a fake hiring proce s.Mularkey was named interim head coach for the final nine games of 2015 after Ken Whisenhunt was fired and then had the job for two seasons (2016-17) San Francisco 49Ers Accessories before he was fired, and Mike Vrabel replaced him.Horton was one of two minority candidates who interviewed at the time, which satisfied the requirements of the Rooney Rule. The other was then-Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Doug Marrone, who later became head coach in Jacksonville, was the only other person interviewed.Last year, Austin once again, this time for defensive coordinator. That job went to Shane Bowen, who was promoted from outside linebackers coach.The Titans are one of six NFL franchises that a minority head coach or general manager.I still regret it, Mularkey . The ownership there, Amy Adams Strunk and her family, came in and told me I was going to be the head coach in 2016 before they went through the Rooney Rule. And so, I sat there knowing I was the head coach in 16, as they went through this fake hiring proce s knowing a lot of the coaches that they were interviewing, knowing how much they prepared to go through those interviews, knowing that everything they could do and they had no chance to go that job.Scroll to C.J. Beathard Jersey ContinueAnd actually, the GM Jon Robinson, he was in an interview with me. He had no idea why he is interviewing me, that I have a job already. I regret it and Ive regretted that since then. It was the wrong thing to do and Im sorry I did that, but it was not the way to do that. Should have been interviewed like everybody else and got hired because of the interview, not early on. So thats probably my biggest regret. Its not hard to do the right thing. Its really not. But you can get caught up in this busine s.The Titans i sued the following statement Thursday afternoon:"Our 2016 head coach search was a thoughtful and competitive proce s fully in keeping with NFL guidelines and our own organizational values. We conducted detailed, in-person interviews with four talented individuals, two of whom were diverse candidates. No decision Nick Mullens Jersey was made, and no decision was communicated, prior to the completion of all interviews."Former Arizona Cardinals coach Steve Wilks also joined Flores lawsuit. Wilks claimed he was a bridge coach who was given no chance to succeed with that franchise when he was hired in 2018. The Cardinals fired Wilks after one season and a 3-13 record.Flores alleging discrimination against him and other minority coaches back on Feb. 1. He said he felt compelled to against systemic racism in the NFL, even if it meant the end of his career in the league. The Pittsburgh Steelers hired him as a defensive a sistant weeks later. Flores suit specifically mentions his experiences with the Dolphins, Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans.After he failed to land the job as Titans head coach, Horton spent one season as Clevelands defensive coordinator (2016) and one season as Washingtons defensive backs coach (2019)."I am proud Solomon Thomas Jersey to stand with Coach Flores and Coach Wilks in combatting the systemic discrimination, which has plagued the NFL for too long," Horton said in a statement released publicly. "When I learned from Coach Mularkey's comments that my head coach interview with the Titans was a sham, I was devastated and humiliated."By joining this case, I am hoping to turn that experience into a positive and make lasting change and create true equal opportunity in the future."