3:54pm: The Titans have confirmed that their interviews with Austin and Mularkey have been completed. Horton will be the fourth candidate to formally speak to the team about the job.
4:11pm: Mike Mularkey isn’t the only in-house candidate for the Titans’ permanent head coaching job. According to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Tennessee defensive coordinator Ray Horton is scheduled to interview for the club’s head coaching vacancy on Saturday.
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Horton is expected to become either the third or fourth candidate to formally interview for the Titans’ job. The club confirmed that it met with Jaguars assistant head coach Doug Marrone on Thursday to discuss the head coaching job, and Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was scheduled to meet with the team today. Mularkey, who is considered the front-runner, was also expected to sit down for an interview at some point this week.
In addition to those candidates, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has been mentioned as a possible target for new Titans GM Jon Robinson. However, he and other coaches on active playoff teams aren’t eligible to interview this week.
Horton, who served as the defensive coordinator in Arizona and Cleveland prior to joining the Titans, has reportedly received interest from the Browns for their defensive coordinator job under new head coach Hue Jackson.
While the Titans will have the first overall pick this year after finishing with a league-worst 2-14 record, Horton’s defense shouldn’t bear the brunt of the blame for the team’s poor showing. The Titans’ average of 342.2 yards per game placed them 12th in the NFL, while their 229.9 passing yards allowed per game placed seventh in the league.