Titans implicated in class action lawsuit for minority coach hiring
On Thursday, the Tennessee Titans were named in Brian Flores' ongoing class-action lawsuit against the NFL. Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks and former Titans defensive coordinator Ray Horton joined the lawsuit on Thursday. Horton is alleging that his interview with the Titans after the 2015 season was a sham that was held only […]
On Thursday, the Tennessee Titans were named in Brian Flores' ongoing class-action lawsuit against the NFL.
Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks and former Titans defensive coordinator Ray Horton joined the lawsuit on Thursday. Horton is alleging that his interview with the Titans after the 2015 season was a sham that was held only to satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule.
Some of Horton's evidence is a podcast interview that former Titans head coach Mike Mularkey (who was hired over Horton) did in 2020 where he admitted that Tennessee conducted a "fake hiring process". Mularkey said that the Titans told him he was getting the job before they went through the Rooney Rule process.
This seemingly lines up with what former Titans president Steve Underwood said in early 2016 (after Mularkey was hired).
“Somewhere during that process I think it coalesced for Amy and she had made the decision she already knew Mike [Mularkey],” said Underwood in January, 2016 (via Pro Football Talk). “She had a comfort level with Mike. But she wanted to reach out and look around to make sure there was not any other viable candidates for her, in terms of our club and where we were going.”
The Titans also interviewed Teryl Austin (a minority) and Doug Marrone before officially hiring Mularkey.
We'll see how this plays out in the coming months, but there's some fairly strong evidence to support Horton's claim.
Featured image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com, Nashville Tennessean via Imagn Content Services, LLC
