The Baltimore Ravens have had a hectic start to the offseason, to say the least. After just missing out on the playoffs, the team surprisingly decided to fire longtime head coach John Harbaugh. While Harbaugh quickly landed with the New York Giants as their head coach, the Ravens are still searching for their new leader from the sidelines.
Considering how long it’s been since Baltimore has had to hire a new head coach, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that the team is being very thorough with its search. And when it eventually does land on a new head coach, the Ravens made an eye-opening move designed to keep one of their current coaches, special teams coordinator Chris Horton, in place.
Ravens Reportedly Block Chris Horton from Making Lateral Move
Typically, when a team makes a change at head coach, that means the rest of the coaching staff is in flux. With a new guy coming into town, they usually like to bring coaches they are familiar with to help fill out their staff. That results in the coaches from the previous regime often having to scramble to find work across the league.
That may not be the case for Horton, though. A rising coach who has been with Baltimore since 2014, Horton was likely beginning to poke around the league for a new job. Whether it be a move for a promotion or simply sticking as a special teams coordinator, which has been his title with the Ravens since 2019, the belief was that if Harbaugh was gone, Horton would follow him out the exit door.
A unique development has taken place, though, that could result in Horton staying put. While Baltimore is focused on finding its new head coach, it wants to keep some of the holdovers from Harbaugh’s tenure around. That group includes Horton, who has reportedly been blocked by the team from taking a lateral move with another team.
“Ravens special teams coordinator Chris Horton is among a handful of coaches the team has blocked for lateral moves, sources say,” Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported in a post on X. “His assistant Anthony Levine Sr. and senior ST coach Randy Brown might also be retained, pending the new HC hire.”
Ravens Beginning to Narrow Down Search for New Head Coach
GettyThe Ravens have made an interesting move involving Chris Horton as they continue to search for John Harbaugh’s replacement
The Ravens clearly value Horton’s work with their special teams unit, so unless he earns a promotion with another team in the NFL, it looks like he will be sticking with Baltimore for the time being. It’s a bit of a surprise to see the team make this move before even hiring a head coach, but it could indicate that it is close to making its decision.
It’s tough to say who the frontrunner for the Ravens’ job right now, but with names beginning to fly off the board, the team is beginning to narrow down its search. One thing that is for certain, though, is that whoever ends up becoming Baltimore’s new head coach won’t have to worry about finding a new special teams coordinator.
Ravens Make Surprising Move Amid Search for John Harbaugh’s Replacement