Two additions have been made to the class-action lawsuit filed by Brian Flores. Panthers secondary coach Steve Wilks and former NFL staffer Ray Horton have joined the suit, making allegations against the league, but also the Cardinals and Titans, respectively. 
As first reported by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Wilks’ allegations stem from his time as head coach of the Cardinals. The 52-year-old held that title for one year, the 2018 season. As the new complaint details, Wilks “was hired as a ‘bridge coach’ and was not given any meaningful chance to succeed” (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). It adds that Wilks “was unfairly and discriminatorily” fired after the team went 3-13.
Central to that point is the fact that general manager Steve Keim was away from the team during the preseason leading up to that campaign as a result of a DUI, and has since been given a contract extension. As Florio notes, Wilks also preferred the team trade up to draft Josh Allen that year; it was with the Cardinals’ ultimate selection, Josh Rosen, that Arizona and Wilks had that losing season. The allegation details how his replacement, Kliff Kingsbury, “has been given a much longer leash” during his tenure alongside Kyler Murray, despite the former’s lack of NFL experience and college success.
Horton, 61, alleges that in 2016 he participated in a “sham interview” for the Titans’ head coaching position. He had previously been the defensive coordinator of the team for two seasons, but they hired Mike Mularkey. As noted by the complaint, the latter had already been told he would be hired before the “fake” process of interviews (including with Horton, to satisfy the Rooney Rule) began, and stated as much in a recent podcast interview (audio link via Pro Football Focus’ Ari Meirov). Horton most recently coached in Washington in 2019.
In the aftermath of these developments, Flores (who has himself made changes to his complaint), Wilks and Horton have made brief statements (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler). Both the Cardinals and Titans have rebuffed the assertion that their respective decisions were discriminatory.
How many clowns can fit in this car
This is a bad look for everyone and it’s starting to feel a little bit like a shakedown. I’m sure some of the complaints are legit, but some sound like the idiocy of “equality of outcome” thinking.
“Starting to…”
You were always a few steps behind in class, weren’t you?
Fired after going 3-13…hmmm…obviously not a reason to be fired. Les Steckel should file a lawsuit against the Vikings for being fired after one season with a similar record.
I’m kind of curious why anyone would take part in any kind of interview if they KNEW it was a sham interview? Maybe…just maybe…coaches get hired and fired based on ability to do the job?? Or is that going too far?
Coaches get hired and fired for multiple reasons and not all of those are based on ability or lack of same. Hypocrisy is unfortunately rampant in the NFL yet I really don’t see Flores and his friends changing that fact no matter how much legal action they engage in.
Yes, because when my team wins a superbowl, if my coach is black I am gonna fire him because I am a racist.
Hue Jackson won 1 game in two seasons and he still kept his job for awhile. Didn’t the team that passed on him hire a different black coach? So how is this a race issue?
You are a special kind of idiot.
Two cowards/clowns that waited for somebody else to do the heavy lifting and then jumped on board.
Race baiters gonna bait and hustle it’s become quite the lucrative career path
Who did the heavy lifting? The lying NFL flame out turned human microphone?
Oh man, is the NFL flashing that “you sucked, you’re fired” conspiracy theory again?
Results don’t matter, but apparently feelings do.
Who wants tell Wilks Josh Allen was gone before they picked Rosen. Straight up clown
Stop confusing the issue with facts, Felix. LOLOL!!!
Reread the article it says he wanted them to draft up to get Allen instead of sitting there for rosen.
It didn’t say that earlier, it mentioned him wanting them to target Allen with their 1st round pick.
Just had to read it with an open mind instead of looking for a reason to blame the coaches
And if you had such an open mind you’d realize the article was edited after comments were made here, happens quite frequently..
Yawn cuz I posted right after he did
And I know what it said when he posted that because I was going to say the same thing but he beat me to it, but you’re too open minded to understand that. Yawn cuz…
Would you care for some cheese with your whine
Yawn…
All the league has to do to defend this is show 2018 Cardinals highlights. One of the most inept football teams I’ve ever seen
And yet Steve Keim is never on the hot seat, even when he drives black out drunk.
It’s his superpower
The nfl deserves this for pandering to it all
Woke america coming to the nfl now!! So now we can use race when we get fired at work! I’ll see how that goes at my job….
This is one reason why The Rooney Rule is absolutely stupid and needs to be done away with.
The rule merely states that before you hire ANYONE, including the person you think is the right person for your team and situation, you HAVE to interview at least one minority (only black counts, mind you) for the job unless the person you have in mind is a minority (black only counts).
It does not say that the person you interview has to be hired. So this makes a pointless exercise for teams to go through if they never intend to hire this person because they already have their person in mind. It is pointless for the person interviewing because they call it a “sham.”
They’re right. The whole situation around it is a sham. Teams should be allowed to hire the person THEY WANT and unfettered. The owners PAY to own the franchise and they have the right to put the person at the front of it that is the right person for the job.
NOW there is a mandate that you HAVE to hire a minority coach (again, only black counts) for a position on your team and this person MUST have some sort of input to how your team is coached, etc. Really?
The NFL is a complete joke, just like all of the major sports leagues. They are bloated beasts and they now need to be slaughtered. We don’t need them. They do need us.