ackers reach agreement with Capers
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 18, 2009 10:20 p.m.
Pittsburgh -- Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy's new defensive coordinator will be Dom Capers.
A source familiar with the search process said Sunday night that McCarthy and Capers had reached an agreement on a new deal that would bring the longtime defensive coordinator and former head coach to Green Bay.
Capers made himself known with a 3-4 defense, but he has worked with other defenses as well and probably will employ a hybrid 3/4 - 4/3 defense. This past season, Capers was a special assistant with the New England Patriots, coaching mostly in the secondary.
Capers was the fourth of four prominent defensive coaches to interview with McCarthy. He visited Friday night and Saturday with McCarthy and then agreed to a new deal Sunday night.
Terms of the agreement are not known.
In Capers, McCarthy would be getting a coach who cut his teeth in the 3-4 system and used it consistently, sometimes with great success and other times with very little. During his three years as head coach of the Texans, his biggest failure was getting the defense established. Twice it ranked 31st in the league.
Capers, 58, has some experience running the 4-3, too, and undoubtedly picked up some wide-ranging concepts from Bill Belichick during his year with the Patriots. Part of the interview with McCarthy presumably will be to see how compatible their defensive philosophies are.
Capers got his start in the NFL in New Orleans under coach Jim Mora, moved on to become a very successful coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was head coach of the Carolina Panthers for three seasons, had two good years as defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars under Tom Coughlin, was head coach of the Houston Texans for five years and spent two seasons as an assistant in Miami.
He had been rumored to be a candidate to replace New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who took the St. Louis Rams job this week.
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