Earlier this week, the Ravens reportedly blocked their former head coach, John Harbaugh, from interviewing special teams coordinator Chris Horton for a potential lateral move to New York. We had mentioned that Baltimore’s stance may change upon the arrival of a new head coach, and with Jesse Minter getting hired the day after Horton was blocked, that change in stance must have occurred. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Horton will join Harbaugh’s new staff in New York as assistant head coach/special teams coach.
A former special teams coach himself, it makes sense to see Harbaugh prioritizing his old special teams crew in Baltimore. Horton got his start in coaching as a quality control assistant at his alma mater, UCLA, following a short-lived career in the NFL. After participating in the Ravens’ coaching internship program, Horton was offered the option to stay in Baltimore as the team’s assistant special teams coach.
When Jerry Rosburg, who had served as the Ravens special teams coordinator/assistant head coach since Harbaugh’s first year in Baltimore, announced his retirement in 2019 (before making a short return for the 2022 Broncos), Horton stepped into the coordinator role. Horton’s tenure as special teams coordinator saw the tail ends of the careers of the team’s well-established “Wolf Pack,” featuring kicker Justin Tucker, punter Sam Koch, and long snapper Morgan Cox.
Cox was allowed to walk in free agency in favor of a cheaper, undrafted option, while Koch and Tucker’s performances started to decline in their final years, though an off-the-field scandal really spelt the end for Tucker. The Ravens have since drafted replacements for Tucker and Koch. Jordan Stout was considered a middling punter in need of a big contract year coming into this year, but a breakout season led to All-Pro honors that should help his prospects heading into free agency.
Rookie kicker Tyler Loop was accurate enough in his first season, making 30 of 34 attempts, but part of that success was aided by a league-leading 10 makes from inside the 20-yard line. Loop also struggled from deep, converting an NFL-low one kick over 50 yards. His season-long make of 52 yards was the shortest season-long kick of all 32 teams. In the return game, the Ravens haven’t seen a kickoff or punt returned for a touchdown in either of the past two seasons and have only seen three total in Horton’s seven seasons as coordinator.
It’s hard to gauge Horton’s impact on a special teams unit that has been in full transition throughout his tenure, but the Ravens are obviously some years removed from the All-Pro Tucker years or the return mastery of the late Jacoby Jones. The Ravens were willing to let him go to New York, though, where injuries to Graham Gano led to a game of musical chairs at the kicker position in 2025. The Giants will hope health will bring more stability and reliability to the special teams unit next year under Horton’s leadership.
The initial blocking of Horton’s interview earlier in the week appeared to also cover assistant special teams coordinator Anthony Levine and senior special teams coach Randy Brown. Nothing was reported on either assistant, so it’s yet to be seen whether they’ll follow Horton to New York or perhaps find promotions in Baltimore.