Cowboys pursue Pittsburgh assistant Ray Horton
By David Moore / Reporter
dmoore@dallasnews.com
The Cowboys welcomed one defensive assistant into the fold Tuesday and is wooing another.
As Gerry Fraley mentioned in an earlier post, the club will add Brian Baker as defensive line coach and is working hard to persuade Ray Horton to be a part of their staff. If the Cowboys are successful in that pursuit, it will have implications for long-time assistant Dave Campo.
Horton is the secondary coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His name surfaced for the defensive coordinator position before the Cowboys hired Rob Ryan.
Horton, who once played for the Cowboys, is scheduled to interview with Arizona Wednesday for their vacancy at defensive coordinator. The Cowboys obviously can't offer that position, but they can make Horton an assistant head coach over the secondary.
The Cowboys will likely re-assign Campo if that title is enough to lure Horton back to Dallas. Campo has told associates that he's uncertain what role, if any, he'll have on Ryan's defensive staff.
The club did not issue a release on Baker, but he has informed officials at the University of North Carolina that he is leaving for the Cowboys.
Baker has spent 15 years in the NFL as an assistant. He was with Carolina the last two seasons and spent the previous three seasons in St. Louis. He is a high-energy assistant who has helped develop Leonard Little, La'Roi Glover and Kevin Williams.