Ray Horton an interesting add for the Redskins but lacks upside

The Washington Redskins added Ray Horton to coach their defensive backs. While he is an interesting hire, he’s not a major upgrade.

The Redskins finally were able to hire a new coach on the defensive side of the ball to help out with some of their departures. After the team and Torrian Gray parted ways, they elected to hire Ray Horton to replace him. Horton, a former NFL defensive back, comes to the team with over 20 years of NFL coaching experience, including a stint in Washington from 1994-1996. Horton has a solid resume and should do a good job in this role. However, he shouldn’t be seen as any sort of major upgrade.

Horton seems likely to pair with Greg Manusky this season and operate in tandem to plan the defense. Manusky will focus on implementing the strategy for the front seven while Horton helps out in the passing game. While his official title is defensive backs coach, Horton may operate as more of a passing game coordinator. That should help the ‘Skins, as Manusky’s plan for the defensive backs last season wasn’t anything special. So, perhaps that will help the team to improve.

However, Horton does come with some concerns, the biggest of which is his lack of upside. While Gray, 44, was considered by some to be an up-and-comer, Horton, 58, has already probably reached his peak. From 2011 to 2016, he was the defensive coordinator for three different NFL teams (two separate stints were with the Browns).

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As a defensive coordinator, Horton’s units were, at best average. But in each of his final four seasons in that role, Horton led his teams to bottom-10 finishes in scoring defense. He bottomed out with three consecutive bottom-six finishes before spending the past two years out of the NFL. He is unlikely to climb the ladder again with any sort of success — unless his defensive strategy has improved greatly in the past two years.

Of course, there is a reason that the Redskins hired Horton. As our own Ian Cummings pointed out, Horton had success as a position coach before receiving a promotion. Here’s what Cummings said about Horton in a recent piece.

"From 2004 to 2010, [Horton] was with the Steelers, and with Pittsburgh, he won two Super Bowls, overseeing a secondary headlined by the legendary Troy Polamalu. After an illustrious stint with the Steelers, Horton received a promotion, becoming the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals. He didn’t have as much success at that position; he bounced around for half a decade, sitting out the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Now, after a two-year hiatus, he could be back for 2019.Horton would bring experience to the Redskins, and he also has a history with the team. He served as the Redskins assistant defensive backs coach from 1994-1996. While he may need to shake off some rust, Horton has at least accrued success in the NFL as a position coach. Whether that success hasn’t been totally expended remains to be seen."

Essentially, Horton is probably going to be a defensive backs coach at most during his time with the ‘Skins. And if he’s asked to do too much more, that may capsize his ability to add anything solid to the team. But if he’s treated solely as the defensive backs coach, he could bring some of the success he had in Pittsburgh to the Redskins. He did help turn William Gay and Keenan Lewis into solid starters after being mid-to-late round picks, so perhaps that developmental potential is still there.

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Horton was a fine hire by Washington. He could easily pan out and be a solid position coach for the team. At the same time, they did sacrifice upside in this move, so it can’t be viewed as a total success. If anything, this seems like a potential lateral move. It will certainly be interesting to see what Horton brings to the table after spending two years out of the NFL.

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