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Does anyone know how well the players previously liked Horton?

Wonder if he brings Lebeau

If you don't have good players to coordinate, it can look pretty uncoordinated.

I know a lot of fans in Indy that referred to Pep as Pepe Le Pew for reason.

Just spoke to Titans DC Ray Horton who is upset by a report that he was angry after his interview for the head coaching job."I'm not insulted. I was very happy Mrs. Strunk gave me an interview. I think she was very impressed with me. I was told some ideas I gave are going to be implemented. I'm still under contract. I'm talking about a contract extension. The insulted comment is not true. I'm very happy. I was very happy to be interviewed." Horton's contract is not expiring.

How Much Is Ray Horton to Blame for the Cleveland Browns' 2013 Collapse?
By Andrea Hangst , Chief Writer Jan 9, 2014

How Much Is Ray Horton to Blame for the Cleveland Browns' 2013 Collapse?Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
Should the Browns have fired defensive coordinator Ray Horton when they got rid of head coach Rob Chudzinski?

Cleveland Browns CEO Joe Banner and owner Jimmy Haslam used the team's poor performance in the second half of the 2013 season as the justification for firing head coach Rob Chudzinski after less than one calendar year on the job. The Browns lost their final seven games in a row and 10 of their last 11—a team record—and needed to make a move that showed how seriously committed they are to improvement.

But if that is the case, if the unraveling of the Browns, particularly in the second half of the season, was grounds for Chudzinski's firing, then why is defensive coordinator Ray Horton still—at least for now—on the job?

Haslam and Banner confirmed that Browns assistant coaches can keep their jobs while the team finds a new head coach who will decide their fates. But perhaps they should have given Horton his walking papers along with Chudzinski. He and his defense are just as much to blame for the Browns' 4-12 2013 campaign as Chudzinski, if not more so.

Horton and his 3-4 defense were brought in to replace Dick Jauron's 4-3 that ranked 23rd in yards per game, 19th in points per game and notched 38 sacks in 2012. He planned to have an attacking-style defense similar to that of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and both the draft and free agency was spent stocking up players who would help advance this agenda.

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
The reasons for which the Browns claim they fired Chudzinski should apply to Horton as well.
However, as the season wore on, it became more and more clear that Horton's vision lacked on-field execution. Though the Browns ranked ninth in yards per game allowed, at 332.4, they ranked just 23rd in points per game, at 25.4. And it's fair to say that as the season wore on, the bigger the defense's collapse became.

The Browns defense ended its season ranked a dismal 30th in red-zone touchdown percentage, with teams scoring touchdowns on 64 percent of their red-zone appearances. They ranked 31st in opponent third-down conversions, with teams getting a new set of downs against them 44.67 percent of the time. They gave up the most fourth-quarter points to their opponents—9.1 of them, on average.

Put together, those three numbers are a formula for complete defensive failure. It would have taken an offense of the likes of the Denver Broncos for the Browns to have won many games with that defense.

And no one saw it coming.

Browns Defense, 2013, vs. Cardinals Defense, 2012 & 2013
Team 3rd D% Rank RZ TD% Rank 4Q PPG Rank
CLE 2013 44.67% 32 64.00% 30 9.1 32
ARI 2012 32.88% 3 44.44% 3 3.8 1
ARI 2013 35.29% 11 54.17% 13 6.2 12
via TeamRankings.com

In 2012, the Cardinals were one of the best defenses in the league in all three metrics. It ranked first in fourth-quarter points allowed, at 3.8, third in opponent third-down conversion percentage, at 32.88, and third in opponent red-zone touchdown percentage, at 44.44. And while Arizona lost its defensive coordinator, it didn't see any drop-off in defensive performance this season.

What changed was the players tasked with executing the defense. The Browns' 2013 defensive roster was made up of veterans who could either effectively make the switch to the 3-4 or had already done so in Cleveland under Rob Ryan in 2010, as well as 3-4-friendly outside free agents and rookies.

Three of their defensive free-agent pickups—linebacker Quentin Groves, defensive lineman Desmond Bryant and cornerback Chris Owens—all eventually landed on injured reserve.

2013 first-round draft pick Barkevious Mingo played like a rookie and had only 668 defensive snaps in his first season. Cornerback Leon McFadden was the only other first-year Browns defender to get anything near significant playing time, and that came as a result of Owens' injury.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
The Browns brought in linebacker Paul Kruger to be the cornerstone of their 3-4 defense's pass rush; he had just 4.5 sacks on the season.
And Cleveland's free-agency crown jewel, linebacker Paul Kruger, had only 4.5 sacks on his 439 pass-rushing snaps—certainly a disappointing performance for someone brought on to be a dominant force in the front seven.

It wasn't just that the Browns needed to get enough pieces to make their new 3-4 defense work; they also needed these pieces to work in concert with one another. Building chemistry and trust between a group of players who had never taken the field together, along with a coach most of them had never worked with, takes time. And there's no set amount of time it will take.

Sometimes, like with the 2013 Baltimore Ravens, it happens quickly. Other times, like with the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles, it doesn't take shape until the end of the season. For the Browns, inexplicably, things started stronger than how they finished.

And with that reasoning being the driving force for Cleveland's front office's decision to part ways with Chudzinski, it follows that Horton should have been held to the same standard. After all, he had more to work with on the defensive side of the ball than the offense did and the defense still collapsed.

Making the Browns defense into a mirror image of the Cardinals was a tough task to accomplish in one season, especially with the change in base scheme. But the fact that the defense failed in such crucial areas on third downs, in the red zone and in the fourth quarter speaks more to the coaching than the players.

Chances are, Horton's time in Cleveland will be limited to one season depending on who the team ultimately hires as its new head coach. But based on Haslam's and Banner's comments concerning why they decided to fire Chudzinski, Horton should have been released at the same time, on the same grounds.

The Browns basically didn't have a quarterback and had no running game to speak of; no wonder their offense struggled. But they had a complete roster of defensive talent and only got worse. There's no excuse or explanation for it, and the responsibility ultimately comes down to coaching.

I kind of hope you did.. I was not excited about the hire. I was hoping the DC was still in the playoffs...

“I was very happy that the Strunk family gave me the interview,” Horton said by phone. “It was a great interview. They have told me that they are going to implement some of my ideas. I’m not insulted. I’m not mad. I’m very happy they gave me opportunity to interview. Not insulted. I would love to be a head coach in this league and will keep working very hard to be a head coach.”

I kind of hope you did.. I was not excited about the hire. I was hoping the DC was still in the playoffs...

I know I shouldn't say this cause it's not PC but it's what I see.
We will have the darkest coaching staff in the NFL. I don't care if we do or don't really. But I don't think any of the 142 text messages were from anyone white. Not saying hue is, but he should take into consideration some white coaches to besides just a special teams one. Not saying hue won't hire a white guy. Just not looking like it. Every time I hear a name and google it the guy is black lol.
Like a said I don't care. But it seems he is only interested in looking for minorities and others will take notice. Who wants to be the token white guy lol. You are limiting your search by half.
Sensitive subject to all the PC folk. But I'm only half white so I can say it!!!!

yellow polka dotted.

not sure I get all the horton love, I think everyone is blinded by how bad oneil was and think horton was much better, he wasn't. I'd take schwartz any day of the week over horton.

Getting this staff together has me a bit concerned, My hopes are that his guys are still coaching this weekend..or were.

I'm wondering if Hue J's comment on all the texts wasn't a bit exaggerated...It may be an eye opener To Hue J on saying things.

Getting this staff right will make or break my excitement for the up coming season..

Let's get over the racist point. Hue isn't a racist as Pettine wasn't a racist. Nor is Hioioman for making the point.

Time to get over that folks, though I think Hue would be well served to get away from John Wooten and his services. That guy IS a racist. He is similar to Sharpton. Both have made their living wanting racial divide for personal gain.

Honestly I know us hiring our staff is not racist. But John wooten's job is to get black coaches hired, plain and simple. His dream would be an all black staff. He does not promote anyone else. This kind of guy should not be so closely involved in our search with his buddy hue. Now he is selling out Horton for being insulted. Just for his own agenda he throws Horton under bus about what he said in private.
But the razorthorn way of thinking is a little messed up. I don't think a coach should hire a staff that he feels more comfortable with. Not the way he described it with wives and family being more comfortable around other blacks.
Just win, get John Wooten away from hue, get the best coaches, get rid of Johnny, draft Goff, get this show turned in the right direction any way possible.
Really excited over hue hire but not so much with Horton and Pep the puppet.

“They insulted him,” said John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which promotes NFL minority hiring.

“The Browns had put in a request to interview him, and then Tennessee interviewed him (for the head coaching job Saturday),” Wooten said. “And they said that they didn’t know that he had any interest in being a head coach. Well, that’s an insult to the man. That is just an insult.

Well Vers, all i heard was how great this staff was gonna be and thus far the only name mentioned that impressed me was keeping Tabor lol.

"Getting" the coaches and coordinators the Browns target is an important part of building this team to win.

Horton was the guy Hue wanted, now build a defense...

...a defense that does not give the game away in the 4th qtr!

Except that Hortons D does exactly that. It happened here and in Tenn.. I'm not excited by this hire if it comes to be.

It seems the hire of Horton is in limbo...not final.

I'm waiting on confirmation from the Browns...then I will believe Horton has been hired.

I want an aggressive defense that attacks. I would prefer that we stick to the 3-4 since we just invested a first round pick in a nosetackle and would pretty much have to get rid of our entire front 7 to switch back to a 4-3 prolonging the agony another few years.

j/c:

The Browns and Bills should be fighting it out all year long. Rex and Rob vs. Hue and Hortion for the title of being the biggest talkers and self-promoters in the entire NFL.

If I recall, last time Horton was here, didn't he talk about running more of a hybrid defense? Primarily a 3-4, but enough other stuff that you couldn't really call it a base 3-4?