Getty Dom Capers coaching the Packers defense in a playoff game.
The Detroit Lions are on a hot streak in terms of adding talent to their coaching staff, and that continued with yet another surprise move during the end of the week.
The Lions revealed they had hired former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Dom Capers as a senior defensive assistant. Capers will help defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as he takes his first coordinator role in the NFL, and that’s a role Capers knows quite well given what he’s done in the league.
#Lions hire Dom Capers as senior defensive assistant
This job in Detroit will likely be special for Capers, seeing as Glenn was once one of his players in Houston and it will be nice for him to impart some wisdom on him as he transitions to a big job. Anything the Lions can do to improve one of the worst defenses in the league is notable, and Capers will help try and transform that.
Dom Capers Biography
Capers, 70, is at the point of his career where he wants to offer advice and be a steward for coaching staffs. After a very successful run in the league, that’s what he has turned to at this point. From 1972-1983, Capers worked in the college game as a position coach. He got his NFL start in 1986 with the New Orleans Saints as a defensive back coach, then served as Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive coordinator from 1992-1994. He coached the Carolina Panthers from 1995-1998, taking that team to an NFC Championship. He went to the Jacksonville Jaguars as defensive coordinator from 1999-2000, then became the Houston Texans’ head coach from 2002-2005. He was Miami’s defensive coordinator from 2006-2007, worked with the Patriots in 2008 as a special assistant and secondary coach and was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator from 2009-2017 where he helped the Packers win a Super Bowl. For the last pair of seasons, he’s worked in Jacksonville and Minnesota as a senior defensive assistant.
Lions Building Solid Coaching Staff
Caper is yet another strong addition to Detroit’s staff. With Anthony Lynn now coming into the mix as offensive coordinator and the Lions officially revealing they have hired Aaron Glenn to be their new defensive coordinator, the team’s top coaches are now firmly in the mix. From here on out, Campbell will have to go about filling out the position coach list moving forward. They have added a few big time names in Duce Staley, Aubrey Pleasant and Mark Brunell, which is a good start as it relates position coaches. Dave Fipp also joined to coach special teams. Clearly, Campbell is on a roll in terms of attracting some big name talent to Detroit as these hires prove. The players have guys who have been there and done that leading them, which is significant to note. Capers will add that ability to the defense given all he’s seen in the NFL. It should only help Glenn and the team’s defense to improve.
The hiring isn’t done and already, Detroit’s staff is looking like one of the strongest in the league assembled by a rookie coach. Capers will only add to that this coming season.
READ NEXT: Lions’ Dan Campbell Hire Given Average Grade