Article on Capers in Chronicle

[Cjeremy635]

Hey guys, I don't have the link yet but I read a good article in the chronicle this morning on Capers and how loyal he is, even to a fault and that is what is causing his job to be in jeopardy. The article stated that Capers asked Palmer to be the QB coach after last season and Palmer refused to be demoted telling Capers he would have to fire him instead. Capers chose not to and see what would happen during this season and when there were no improvements, he finally made the choice. It went on to say the Fangio and Pendry are not the right guys for their jobs either, but Capers' loyalty to his team and assistants will not allow him to fire them. I know being in management you have to make some decisions that can cause a friendship to part if you have to fire your buddy, but that's why you don't mix the two. I personally think there are better assistants that can compliment Capers a little better and make him look like the coach we hired him to be. Who knows what going to happen at the end of this year but someone is losing their job...the question is who?

Link

[Lucky]

From the Chronic link above:

His undoing has been doing nothing about those whom he trusted, but failed him.

The three assistants in whom Capers has shown the most faith — defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, former offensive coordinator Chris Palmer and current offensive coordinator Joe Pendry — are most responsible for Capers' job being in jeopardy.

No, Capers is most responsible for Capers' job being in jeopardy. He's the head coach. The onus is on the head coach to right any issue the team might have. If the offense isn't protecting the QB, he must step in and fix the problem. If the defense can't generate a pass rush, he has to find a way to solve that riddle. Can you imagine Bill Parcells keeping Chris Palmer after he refused a re-assignment? Capers' fate is all on Capers.

[Cjeremy635]

I agree 100%. All I'm getting at in the article is that I wasn't even aware that he was going to demote Palmer. I would have canned him right there if he refused to be demoted, but my job isn't on the line for dumb calls like that. Loyalty only gets you so far.....guts takes you the rest of the way.

[Hervoyel]

This is just more fuel to the fire IMO. I think it's clear how I feel on the Dom Capers subject.

[Kaiser Toro]

Loyalty is huge in the coaching profession. However, the onus is on Capers to charter the ship. If he sees that one of his loyal subjects is not doing their job then it is up to Dom to find that person another job in house or somewhere else.

This is how you manage loyalty and the direction of the team.

[Vinny]

Young players and complicated NFL defensive schemes don't mix. Fangio's 3-4 is one that only two Division I NCAA programs (Virginia and Maryland) run as their primary defense, necessitating that a number of young players, such as Jason Babin, switch positions from what they played in college.

Yet Capers believed in Fangio and still does.

Comments like this make me wish we had better football minds on the Chronicle staff. The 3-4 scheme isn't the problem, it's how it's being coached. Fangio didn't run the 3-4 at Indy and he failed there too.

[texasguy346]

The logic used is flawed to begin with. Teams like San Diego use the 3-4, and they drafted two young guys who've seen significant time in the lineup in Merriman and Castillo with quite a bit of success. You could even toss in Phillips who is another young guy who's had some success. This is one of those things that frustrates me about the Chronicle.

[Marcus]

I read that article and I pretty much agree with it. Like it said, Capers is faithful to a fault. His most admirable quality, loyalty, will be what does him in.

I'm not going to pretend to read his mind, but I get the feeling that he's looking at this in the long term. He knows he's going to be coaching in the NFL long, long after this stint with the Texans is over with.

Being fired as the head coach of the Texans won't harm any chance whatsoever of him getting a plum coaching job somewhere else in the league, and he knows that he's going to have to work with the same guys that might have worked under him in the past.

"Throughout my career, I've always viewed (being loyal) as a strength. But can your strength become a weakness at some point?"

Does Capers have what it takes to be a head coach? No. I'm willing to bet even he realizes that now.

Originally Posted by Vinny

Comments like this make me wish we had better football minds on the Chronicle staff. The 3-4 scheme isn't the problem, it's how it's being coached. Fangio didn't run the 3-4 at Indy and he failed there too.

This goes back a few seasons ago, having been a fan of Capers and defensive days at Pittsburgh, I look at this defense and see hardly a resemblence. Ever see our SS or FS blitz much? Lake and Perry did it often. Ever see the RCB blitz, I've seen it maybe once here.

[humbleone]

Originally Posted by Lucky

From the Chronic link above:

No, Capers is most responsible for Capers' job being in jeopardy. He's the head coach. The onus is on the head coach to right any issue the team might have. If the offense isn't protecting the QB, he must step in and fix the problem. If the defense can't generate a pass rush, he has to find a way to solve that riddle. Can you imagine Bill Parcells keeping Chris Palmer after he refused a re-assignment? Capers' fate is all on Capers.

Exactly right! In the words of Spock..."the needs of the many (the team) outweigh the needs of the few (your buds)". Learning to have more "loyalty" to the team than any one individual is vital to successful management of anything. And btw, keeping guys you like in positions they are failing at is not really doing them any favors anyway...something I wish Mr. McNair would think about.

[bckey]

If Capers asked Palmer to take a demotion down to QB coach I wonder if he would be willing to take one down to DC. Same reasoning applies. Capers isn't getting the job done. It would be worth a try. We all know Capers has a good track record as an DC.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by bckey

If Capers asked Palmer to take a demotion down to QB coach I wonder if he would be willing to take one down to DC. Same reasoning applies. Capers isn't getting the job done. It would be worth a try. We all know Capers has a good track record as an DC.

That isn't the way it works in the NFL. There are many demotions, reshufflings, lateral moves, etc. that take place within a head coach's staff. But in the case where a new head coach is brought in, he will bring in his own staff.

Side note: Everyone sure is making one great big fat assumption that Capers is gone after the season.

Let see. How does that saying go?

[wags]

Originally Posted by Marcus

Side note: Everyone sure is making one great big fat assumption that Capers is gone after the season.

Let see. How does that saying go?

I believe it goes: Don't let the door hit you in the %*$ on the way out!!!

[bckey]

Originally Posted by Marcus

That isn't the way it works in the NFL. There are many demotions, reshufflings, lateral moves, etc. that take place within a head coach's staff. But in the case where a new head coach is brought in, he will bring in his own staff.

Side note: Everyone sure is making one great big fat assumption that Capers is gone after the season.

Let see. How does that saying go?

I know that Marcus. I simply said that because he asked Palmer to do it.

[Double Barrel]

I think key words might be "Fangio's 3-4". Many teams utilize a 3-4 in the NFL, but how many run it in combination with a cover 2? It's almost like a prevent, with very little pressure put on the pocket or WRs. And absolutely no threat to stop the run.

Every NFL team that uses the 3-4 has a much more aggressive nature to them. Maybe we don't have the talent for that, but who picked the talent?

I'm only speculating here, but if Fangio's defense is not a 3-4, and he's another coordinator having to run his head coach's scheme, I don't see a unity of like minded coaches here, but rather a dictatorial process that all leads back to the head coach.

Palmer didn't run his offense, either, but ran Capers' style. And look at the results of that and where it got him.

Stories like these just reinforce the position that Coach Capers is no longer the man for this job. There is too much smoke for there not to be a fire.

[beerlover]

where is it written in stone "thou shall build the franchise based upon the coaches view?" Casserly has to take a large share of the blame as well if indeed he bought into their pleas of "need this or that" instead of building the foundation right from the start and yes I'm talking about stud linemen on both sides of the ball & trading away too many draft choices for players switching positions or recovering from signifcant injurys :brickwall

[aj.]

Originally Posted by Cjeremy635

The article stated that Capers asked Palmer to be the QB coach after last season and Palmer refused to be demoted telling Capers he would have to fire him instead. Capers chose not to and see what would happen during this season and when there were no improvements, he finally made the choice.
Link

It's interesting that this comes out now, and what makes it even more bizarre is that Richard Justice said this morning that McNair and Casserly were unaware of this until "2 or 3 weeks ago." Hard to believe but if true, I would like to ask Charley what the hell else is going on over there that he doesn't know about? On the other hand, this could be an attempt by Casserly to distance himself from Dom and focus more negative light elsewhere save his own ***. The problem is that he's the GM of Football Ops and he is charged with the overall responsibility for what the hell is going on around there. It's ime to say good bye to The Family and the GM on Jan 2. Bad decisions have been the rule around here for quite some time and it's time to cut bait.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by texasguy346

Teams like San Diego use the 3-4, and they drafted two young guys who've seen significant time in the lineup in Merriman and Castillo with quite a bit of success.

And the Cowboys are starting 3 rookies in a foreign 3-4 and having impressive results. One of Capers favorite tactics to buy time is the D he
runs will take the players awhile to acclimate themselves to, but it doesn't seem to hold with some other teams.
And I especially like the title: "Capers may be nice guy, but so what?". In other words, what's that got to do with it ? He's here to win games, not
win popularity contests. And the guy is worth millions and millions (atleast),
and will find employment as a DC when he's canned - don't feel sorry for him.
Now assistants like the young DL coach who brought his family here from Virginia, including the daughter with Cancer who can get specialized care at MD Anderson, I feel for him if he's out on the street. But not Capers.

[ATX_Texan]

It's interesting that this comes out now, and what makes it even more bizarre is that Richard Justice said this morning that McNair and Casserly were unaware of this until "2 or 3 weeks ago." Hard to believe but if true, I would like to ask Charley what the hell else is going on over there that he doesn't know about?

Can anyone tell me what exactly Charley is supposed to be doing with this team? Based on his statements, it seems like Dom and his coaches are responsible for all the drafting and free agent decisions over the years. On top of that, he has no idea what Dom is doing with staff. CC needs to go along with the rest of this motley crue.

So if we don't excercise Carrs option then who's fault is it for evaluating and signing his contract to begin with. If Carr is them deemed a failure who's responsible for calling that shot? Who would be the one to say let's take Carr over Peppers?