The lawsuit Brian Flores against the NFL and various teams just got a little bigger as two more former coaches joined the lawsuit with allegations against two new teams.
Former Cardinals coach Steve Wilks (pictured) and former NFL assistant coach Ray Horton have joined the action, with claims against the NFL generally and allegations against the Cardinals and Titans:
Wilks alleges that the Cardinals hired him as a “bridge coach” without giving him a real chance to succeed. Wilks points out that he had to operate without a General Manager “during a critical time of the preseason.” At the time, Cardinals GM Steve Keim had been suspended following a DUI arrest. Wilks also alleges that he was fired after one year, “even though he was dealt a difficult hand.” Wilks points out that Keim “had personal responsibility for the team’s perfjoamcne” and “had engaged in fireable conduct,” but wasn’t terminated, rather given an extension while Wilks was fired.
Wilks further alleges that he was replaced by a white coach, Kliff Kingsbury, who “has been given a much longer leash than Mr. Wilks and, to his credit, has succeeded.” Wilks doesn’t point out that the Cardinals have regressed during each of Kingsbury’s three seasons, capped by a 10-2 start in 2021 followed by a dramatic collapse and a one-and-out playoff appearance.
Ray Horton claims that, in 2016, he was apart of a “sham” interview with the Titans. The team hired Mike Mularkey instead, and later said during a podcast interview that the Titans told him he would be the coach, “before they went through the Rooney Rule.”
Horton is currently unemployed while Wilks is Defensive Passing Game Coordinator and Secondary Coach for the Carolina Panthers.
