Vikings announce the addition of a former head coach to their staff

Former Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers head coach Dom Capers has been added to the Minnesota Vikings staff as a senior defensive assistant.

During Mike Zimmer’s six years as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, the team’s defense has been able to transform into one of the best and most consistent units in the entire NFL.

In 2019, the Vikings defense had a few more hiccups than normal, but it was still a strength of the team.

Despite the fact that Minnesota’s defense still performed solidly last season, it is becoming more and more clear that Zimmer was not happy with the play of the unit. This has been made evident by the Vikings parting ways with longtime defensive coordinator George Edwards and defensive backs coach Jerry Gray this year.

Zimmer has already filled these two vacancies and on Monday, Minnesota announced the addition of another defensive assistant to the team’s 2020 coaching staff.

Dom Capers will be a part of the Vikings coaching staff for next season and he’s been given the role of senior defensive assistant.

Capers spent 2019 as a senior defensive assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars and before that, he was the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers from 2009 to 2017.

Currently 69-years-old, Capers has been coaching in the NFL for more than four decades. He began his coaching career in the league as a defensive backs coach with the New Orleans Saints in 1986 and he eventually went on to be the head coach of both the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans.

With Minnesota, having Capers on their staff seems like a way for Zimmer to add experience to his group of defensive coaches. Capers can lend his opinions to co-defensive coordinators Andre Patterson and Adam Zimmer and he can also give the older Zimmer head coaching advice during certain situations.

Along with Gary Kubiak, the Vikings now have two former head coaches helping their assistants on both sides of the ball. Minnesota and Zimmer are hoping that this will lead to the team achieving even more success than they did in 2019.