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- Joined Packers Jan. 19, 2009.
- Has nine years of experience as a head coach in the NFL, serving as the first head coach for two expansion franchises (Carolina, 1995-98; Houston 2001-05).
- Also served as a defensive coordinator for three teams, first with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992-94) as well as the Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2000) and Miami Dolphins (2006-07).
- Won every major Coach of the Year award in 1996 with the Panthers, and he also earned the Pro Football Weekly/PFW Assistant Coach of the Year award in 1994 with Pittsburgh and 1999 with Jacksonville.
- Began his coaching career by spending 12 seasons at the collegiate level.
- Played safety and linebacker at Mount Union College in Ohio
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Dom Capers
Defensive Coordinator
24th NFL Season
First Packers Season
Entering his 24th season in the NFL, Dom Capers begins his first year with the Packers in 2009 as the club's defensive coordinator.
Named to his position Jan. 19, 2009, by Head Coach Mike McCarthy, Capers is one of the most experienced coaches in the league, spending time with seven different franchises during his 23 years in the NFL.
Capers joined the Packers after one season with the New England Patriots as special assistant - secondary. He was part of a staff that helped the Patriots finish 10th in the league in total defense and 11th in passing defense on their way to an 11-5 record.
Prior to that, Capers had defensive coordinator responsibilities for two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, holding the titles of special assistant to the head coach (2006) and defensive coordinator (2007). In 2007, the Dolphins finished with the No. 4 passing defense in the NFL, allowing just 188.7 yards per game. After inheriting a defense that had allowed 317 total yards per game (No. 18) in 2005, Capers made an immediate impact as Miami finished fourth in overall defense in '06. Defensive end Jason Taylor earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors that season under Capers' tutelage to become the first Miami player to receive that award since defensive end Doug Betters in 1983.
Capers served as the head coach of the expansion Houston Texans for the first five seasons of the franchise's history. He was hired in January of 2001, more than a year before Houston's inaugural season in 2002. In 2004, wide receiver Andre Johnson became the first Texans offensive player to earn Pro Bowl recognition and the Texans' defense intercepted a franchise-record 22 passes.
From 1999-2000, Capers was the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where under his guidance the Jaguars improved from 25th in the NFL in total defense in 1998 to fourth in 1999. Jacksonville also allowed the fewest points (217) in the NFL in '99, which still stands as a franchise record. Capers' unit also set club records for sacks (57), which led the league, and tied the team mark for takeaways (30). He was named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year by Pro Football Weekly/PFW and USA Today. In 2000, the Jaguars ranked 12th in the league in total defense and tied the team mark for takeaways with 30.
Capers served as a head coach for the first time in his career from 1995-98 with the expansion Carolina Panthers, guiding that team from its origin to the NFC title game in just two seasons. In 1996, Carolina won their last seven games on their way to a 12-4 record and the NFC West title. The Panthers defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in the divisional playoffs before falling to the Packers at Lambeau Field in the NFC Championship.
Capers was honored with all of the major Coach of the Year awards in '96, including the Associated Press' honor. Eight Panthers were selected to the Pro Bowl, a mark that still stands in the team's record books today.
In Capers' first season with the Panthers in 1995, he led the team to seven wins, which set an NFL record for most victories by an expansion team in its inaugural season. He was selected as Coach of the Year by Pro Football Weekly/PFWA.
Prior to taking over in Carolina, Capers served as a defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1992-94, the first time in his coaching career that he ran a defense. His unit ranked third in the NFL in total defense in '93, second in '94, and the Steelers won the AFC Central in 1992 and 1994. In Capers' three seasons in Pittsburgh, no defense in the league yielded fewer touchdowns over that span.
Capers' first NFL coaching stop came with the New Orleans Saints, where he served as the defensive backs coach for six seasons (1986-91). He helped the Saints earn their first three playoff berths in franchise history, including the '91 campaign when the defense ranked first in the league in yards allowed (245.8 per game) and points allowed (13.2 per game). In New Orleans he worked under head coach Jim Mora, whose staff he coached on with the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the USFL from 1984-85 as the Stars won the league title both seasons.
Capers began his coaching career by spending 12 seasons at the collegiate level, beginning with a three-year stint as a graduate assistant at Kent State (1972-74). He went on to coach defensive backs at Hawaii (1975-76), San Jose State (1977), California (1978-79), Tennessee (1980-81) and Ohio State (1982-83).
Capers played safety and linebacker for Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, from 1968-71, and graduated with a degree in physical education and a minor in psychology. He also earned his master's degree in administration from Kent State.
Capers grew up in Buffalo, Ohio, where he was a star athlete at Meadowbrook High School. He still hosts an annual charity golf tournament in the area to raise money for the Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center's cardiac rehab unit, and for a college scholarship in the name of Dale Dixon, Capers' former high school football coach who died of a heart attack.
Born in Cambridge, Ohio, Capers and his wife, Karen, live in Green Bay.
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