Ray Horton, insulted! Leaving Tennessee Titans

UPDATE: Not so fast apparently. Wolf and others may have jump the gun. Paul Kuharsky reports that not only was he not insulted, but that some of his ideas are being implemented and that he is still under contract. An interesting topic to watch.

After feeling like he wasn't really considered for the Tennessee Titans HC job, many people including Jason Wolf of the Tennessean have said that he is going to bail on the Titans to go to Cleveland.

The quote from Wolf's story is from John Wooten of the Fritz Pollard Alliance,

"'And then when he got in the interview, they seemed shocked that he was as prepared and knowledgeable and everything else at that point,' Wooten said. 'And they of course already interviewed Mularkey on Friday, and they gave the job to Mularkey.'"

So, that means that Horton is all but gone in Tennessee. Please don't misunderstand this next question, because I do think that he has a great resume and that he is an intelligent coach. Now having said that my question is: So what?

I think it is pretty widely accepted that Dick LeBeau was calling the plays in Tennessee and that was pretty clear by the change in production this year and the clear aggressive personality of that defense.

Now, I am sure there are some smaller things that Horton did that are more technical, but why can't a guy like Lou Spanos do that? Spanos is rumored to be retained and he has done a nice job with the linebackers this year and he was a defensive coordinator for a very good UCLA defense in college just three years ago.

I don't like the way the Titans handled the HC situation (no one does), but this move is one that will likely be blown out of proportion.

If Dick LeBeau isn't kept on, then the consensus seems to be that Jim Schwartz is the most qualified and that he really wants to be here so if they are looking for other options he should be the first person (and only person) considered for the job.