Chris Horton takes his new responsibilities with the New York Giants very seriously, particularly his role as assistant head coach alongside special teams coordinator under head coach John Harbaugh.
After 12 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, where he rose from assistant special teams coach to coordinator in 2019, Horton joins Harbaugh’s inaugural staff in New York, bringing deep familiarity with the coach’s philosophy and a track record of excellence in the kicking game.
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“I don’t take it very lightly,” Horton said on The Drive with Shaun O’Hara. “I credit everything that John Harbaugh has done for me throughout my career, really just putting me in this position to be his right-hand man after so many years. That comes with a lot of responsibility. That comes with a lot of trust. It comes with a lot of understanding of getting the message across to everyone and making sure that we’re on the same page.”
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Horton will oversee the Giants’ revamped special teams unit, including the battery of kicker, punter, and long snapper. He approaches the role methodically, starting from fundamentals while holding players accountable.
“You start from ground zero,” Horton explained. “You start at the bottom and then you build them up and you teach them what you want. They’re all good players when they walk in here, and you just make sure that you hold them to the standard. There’s a lot of – some people call it pressure. I just say, man, you just got to go out there and you’ve got do your job because their job requires a lot.
“When you’re the kicker, points are always going to be involved. When you’re the punter, you’ve got to flip that field. When you’re the snapper, no one notices you until something goes wrong. So I just talk to them about holding each other accountable and we’ll work from there.”
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A former seventh-round safety drafted by Washington in 2008, Horton earned All-Rookie honors and later had a brief stint with the Giants in 2012. He transitioned to coaching at UCLA before joining the Ravens, where he helped continue Baltimore’s strong special teams tradition, including 23 combined Pro Bowl honors for specialists since 1996.
Horton reunites with punter Jordon Stout in New York.
“It was something that was in me,” Horton said of his passion for special teams. “It’s always been in me. I started on the defensive side of the ball [as an intern], but I’ve always wanted to be a special teams coach. I love developing players, and I feel like that’s a room where, at times, it becomes a lost art.”
Horton added that he enjoys helping players seize opportunities, drawing from his own journey as an undrafted free agent hopeful turned pro.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants’ Chris Horton takes role as ‘right-hand man’ very seriously