PLOT THICKENS

Coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton Join Brian Flores in NFL Discrimination Suit

In an amended complaint, the two say they faced discrimination when they were interviewing for positions with the Arizona Cardinals and the Tennessee Titans.

Two more coaches have joined former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL. In an amended complaint filed Thursday, Steve Wilks, who was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for a single season in 2018, claims he was hired as a “bridge coach” and was never given “any meaningful chance to succeed.” He claims he was replaced by a less-qualified white coach who was given more support to maintain the position. The amended complaint also lists long-time NFL assistant coach Ray Horton. Horton claims that when he interviewed for the head coaching spot with the Tennessee Titans in 2016, he was only given the opportunity due to the Rooney Rule, an equal opportunity policy. The complaint alleges that the white coach who was given the job, Mike Mularkey, later admitted that the Titans organization told him they had to interview other candidates to comply with the rule but were going to hire him regardless. Mularkey reportedly said he “regretted” going along with the “fake hiring process.”