The first big signing for the New England Patriots this offseason wasn’t a player, but a new coach. The Pats announced today that they signed Dom Capers as a special assistant/secondary coach. You may remember Dom Capers as the former head coach of the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans. Capers also employed a 3-4 defense when he ran the Panthers and Texans. However, Capers doesn’t employ a Belichick-style 3-4. Capers version is based more on pressuring the quarterback, similar to the system of Wade Philips (formerly of San Diego and currently Dallas) and Dick LeBeau (defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers). This could be a sign of the Pats changing up their defense somewhat to add more pressure-based packages, which may be a necessity depending and what the secondary looks like this coming season.
Capers spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins (another Dolphins cast-off?). Before Pats fans groan because the Dolphins were terrible last year, consider this: despite being the NFL’s worst team, the defense finished #4 in the league against the pass. In 2006, Jason Taylor (a possible future Miami release/soon-to-be Patriot) became the Defensive Player of the Year under Capers’ tutelage. I’m excited about this hire, and hopefully this can free Belichick up to concentrate more on the entire team. The defensive coaching staff just got a head coach-caliber assistant in an area in need of some serious upgrades.
Courtesy of Mike Reiss, here’s what the coaching staff now looks like:
Dom Capers, Special Assistant/Secondary
Don Davis, Assistant Strength and Conditioning
Ivan Fears, Running Backs
Pepper Johnson, Defensive Line
Pete Mangurian, Tight Ends
Josh McDaniels, Offensive Coordinator/QBs
Harold Nash, Assistant Strength and Conditioning
Bill O