Ray Horton Hired as Browns DC: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson has continued to fill out his coaching staff, "finalizing" a deal to secure Ray Horton as his defensive coordinator on Wednesday, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network.  The team announced the deal on Friday. 

Breer added that Pep Hamilton and Kirby Wilson were also added to the offensive staff. 

Horton, 55, spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. Prior to that, he spent the 2013 season as the defensive coordinator of the Browns and the 2012 season as the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals.

He's been in the NFL since 1994, holding multiple positions on the defensive side of the ball and generally working with the secondary before becoming a DC. His stops have included Washington, Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh.

His departure from the Titans after the 2015 season wasn't without controversy, however. John Wooten, the chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, claimed that Horton was insulted by the Titans during his head coaching interview with the team after the organization revealed it didn't know he wanted to be a head coach, according to Jason Wolf of the Tennessean.

But Horton dismissed that report as untrue, per Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. 

Regardless, Horton gives Jackson an experienced NFL coach to run the defense, a key move for an offensive-minded coach and one undertaking just his second head coaching position. He'll have a tall task ahead of him in improving the team's defense, as the Browns were 27th in yards allowed and 29th in points allowed during the 2015 season.