MIAMI — Two coaches have joined Brian Flores’ racial discrimination class action lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams, which includes the Dolphins.
An amended complaint to the former Dolphins head coach’s lawsuit, originally filed on the first day of February, lists former Arizona Cardinals coach Steve Wilks and former defensive coordinator Ray Horton as plaintiffs. The suit, which originally listed the NFL, Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos as defendants, now also includes the Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans.
The amended complaint alleges Wilks, who was head coach of the Cardinals for the 2018 season and was fired after a 3-13 finish, was hired as a “bridge coach and was not given any meaningful chance to succeed.” Wilks, who is Black, was replaced by Kliff Kingsbury, who the complaint notes is white and had no NFL head coaching experience.
“Mr. Kingsbury, armed with quarterback Kyler Murray, has been given a much longer leash than Mr. Wilks and, to his credit, has succeeded,” the complaint says. “That said, Mr. Wilks, given the same opportunity afforded to Mr. Kingsbury, surely would have succeeded as well.
Wilks is currently the defensive passing coordinator and secondary coach for the Carolina Panthers.
The complaints also claim Horton, who is also Black, was given a “completely sham interview” for the Titans’ opening in January 2016. The complaint cites a 2020 podcast interview in which Mike Mularkey, who was hired over Horton, says Titans management informed him he was getting the job even as interviews were still being conducted.
“Told me I was going to be the head coach in 2016, before they went through the Rooney rule,” said Mularkey, who is white and coached Tennessee for two seasons. “And so I sat there knowing I was the head coach in 2016, as they went through this fake hiring process knowing, knowing a lot of the coaches that they were interviewing, knowing how much they prepared to go through those interviews, knowing that everything they could do and they had no chance to get that job.”
Horton, a longtime defensive coordinator, last coached in the NFL in 2019, serving as defensive backs coach for the Washington Commanders.
Flores’ original complaint alleges racial discrimination in the league’s hiring and firing practices and accuses the Giants and Broncos conducted sham interviews with him in 2022 and 2019, respectively. Both organizations have denied those assertions.
The complaint also includes updates to Flores’ allegations that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered payment for losing games during the 2019 season. According to the complaint, Flores “memorialized Mr. Ross’ desire to have Miami lose games in a December 4, 2019 memorandum that was provided to General Manager, Chris Grier; Chief Executive Officer, Tom Garfinkel; and Senior Vice President of Football and Business Administration, Brandon Shore.”
And the complaint alleges that since filing the suit, Flores has “been the subject of blatant retaliation” by the NFL, the Texans and Dolphins. According to the suit, the Texans, who interviewed Flores for their head coaching vacancy before hiring Lovie Smith — who is Black — retaliated against the litigation by moving Flores from consideration. It also alleges the Dolphins are asserting Flores repay past wages because he is suing the team.
The Dolphins did not immediately return a request for comment. Ross has previously denied accusations of incentivizing losing. He and the NFL have since hired lawyers to prepare their defense against Flores’ allegations.
Flores was hired by the Steelers as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in February.
At last week’s owners meetings, the NFL announced an update to the Rooney Rule, which originally requires NFL teams to interview external minority candidates for head-coaching, coordinator, and senior front-office vacancies. Each team must now also hire a minority offensive assistant coach — either a female or a member or a racial or ethnic minority — for the 2022 season. The league also announced the launch of a Diversity Advisory Committee, a six-member group that will evaluate the league’s equity and inclusion strategies and initiatives.
