It was an outstanding day today for new Browns head coach Hue Jackson.
He finally got his man when he was able to talk Ray Horton into becoming his defensive coordinator.
Jackson also got four other key men – all on the other side of the ball — when he hired Pep Hamilton as associate head coach/offense, Al Saunders as senior offensive assistant, Kirby Wilson as the first coach in Browns history to have the title of running game coordinator and Hal Hunter Jr. as offensive line coach.
Jackson had begun pursuing Horton, the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans the last two years after serving that role for the Browns in 2013 under Rob Chudzinski, also immediately upon being hired exactly a week ago. As such, Horton becomes just the second man in Browns history to serve two different stints as defensive coordinator, the other being Mogadore, Ohio native and University of Akron product Dave Adolph in 1984 and 1986-88.
Horton is a great addition for the Browns. He’s very intelligent and thinks out of the box, which will fit right in with the club’s heavy focus on analytics. The Cleveland defense performed a lot better in 2013 under Horton than the statistics may seem to indicate. With the hiring of Horton, who knows the AFC North inside and out from having played and coached with the Cincinnati Bengals and coached for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson can now have peace of mind in turning nearly all of his attention to the offense.
In addition, it’s a great move for Horton professionally in that it allows him to move out of the shadow of the iconic Dick LeBeau. LeBeau, the greatest defensive coordinator in the game’s history, didn’t have that title with the Titans last year, nor will he probably have it this season should he remain on new head coach Mike Mularkey’s staff, but the perception was that he and not Horton was really running the defense.
Jackson will not have an offensive coordinator in Cleveland but will call the plays, and in adding Saunders, he gets a veteran, savvy and knowledgeable offensive mind to serve as his right-hand man on that side of the ball. With that, then, it allows Jackson to concentrate more fully on being the CEO of the team, which every head coach must do. In addition, Saunders knows the division after having coached with the Baltimore Ravens – with Jackson.
Hamilton has a lot of experience as an offensive coordinator, including for the Indianapolis Colts for the last three seasons, and working with quarterbacks. The offensively-challenged Browns, still without their franchise quarterback, need that type of man on their staff.
Wilson, who has knowledge of the division, too, after having coached with Pittsburgh, will be able to handle the running game on his own, which will allow Jackson to focus on the passing game and developing quarterbacks. He has coached running backs for nearly two decades.
Hunter is the son of the late Hal Hunter Sr., who served as a Browns assistant from 1989-92 first under Bud Carson and then under Bill Belichick. Hunter Sr., who passed away in August 2014 at the age of 82, was offensive line coach in 1989 and then 1991-92. As such, the two Hunters become the first father-son coaching duo in Browns history.
