CAPERS HITS PACKERS RADAR
Posted by Mike Florio on January 16, 2009, 12:46 p.m.
With Mike Nolan and Gregg Williams taking defensive coordinator positions with other teams after being identified as finalists for the same job in Green Bay, another name is being added to the Packers list.

According to Adam Schefter of NFL Network, Pats special assistant/secondary Dom Capers is interviewing for the defensive coordinator job on Mike McCarthys staff.

Capers, 58, has spent the last 23 years in the NFL, working as among other things the first head coach of both the Panthers and the Texans, and the defensive coordinator of the Steelers, Jaguars, and Dolphins.

Another former Steelers defensive coordinator, and two-time former head coach, remains in the running as well Jim Haslett.

Then theres Eagles secondary coach Sean McDermott. He still might get the job, if Philly loses on Sunday at Arizona.

With Mike Nolan and Gregg Williams officially out of the picture, Jim Haslett appears to be the leading candidate to replace Bob Sanders as Green Bays new defensive coordinator. But if Mike McCarthy is truly looking for the best man for the job - and not just the best man that hes worked with in the past - then he should turn his attention to Dom Capers. Currently a special assistant/secondary coach with the Patriots, the 58-year-old is one of the finest defensive minds in all of football. People tend to forget about Capers, but the guy can flat out scheme, said a former scout. Give him some talent and he'll be successful."

Besides having no prior relationship with McCarthy.....
Continued

He entered the NFL in 1986, and served a six-year tenure as the New Orleans Saints' defensive backs coach (1986-91), a period during which the team made three playoff appearances.

In 1992, he became the Steelers' defensive coordinator and served there for three seasons, with Pittsburgh qualifying for the playoffs each year.

In 1994 Capers was named the Pro Football Weekly/PFWA Assistant Coach of the Year as the Steelers led the NFL in rush defense.

He also earned Pro Football Weekly/PFWA Assistant Coach of the Year honors as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator in 1999, as Jacksonville led the NFL in scoring defense (13.9 points per game).


Capers most recently completed a two-year stint during which he had defensive coordinator responsibilities with the Miami Dolphins, holding the titles of special assistant to the head coach (2006) and defensive coordinator (2007).


Last season, the Dolphins' pass defense was the highest ranked unit on the team, finishing the season ranked fourth in the NFL.

In 2006, Dolphins defensive lineman Jason Taylor won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors under Capers' tutelage as the team finished fourth in the league in overall defense.