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Houston Texans head coach Dom Capers walks up the sideline before a game against the Cleveland Browns.
The Houston Texans have come a long way since their inaugural season. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has guided the franchise to three straight playoff berths. Before that prosperity, though, Dom Capers helped usher the Texans into the NFL.
Capers was the Texans’ first head coach, charged with setting a tone for what is still the NFL’s most recent expansion team.
Now, the septuagenarian is heading into yet another phase of his career.
Ex-Texans HC Dom Capers Joining New Team
GettyHouston Texans head coach Dom Capers looks on from the sidelines during a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
“The Browns are adding longtime NFL coach Dom Capers to the coaching staff as a senior defensive assistant, per sources,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on X on February 24.
“Capers, 75, a two-time head coach, was last with the Carolina Panthers.”
Capers’ tenure as the Texans’ HC ended with an 18-46 record, as the franchise struggled mightily in its infancy. They peaked at seven wins, which came during the 2004 season. The Texans fired Capers one year later, following a 2-14 season.
It would be another six years before the Texans would finish a campaign with double-digit wins. Their problems ran deeper than Capers.
Capers was and remains one of the most well-respected defensive minds in the NFL.
The Browns are Capers’ 11th NFL franchise. He began his career in the league with the New Orleans Saints, and he has spent time with the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Perhaps fittingly, Capers will join former Texans QB Deshaun Watson, who is entering his fifth season with the Browns.
Dom Capers’ Tenure Polarizing
GettyHouston Texans head coach Dom Capers watches the game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Despite his highly regarded status as a defensive play-caller, Capers’ tenure with the Texans is not looked upon as fondly as his career on the whole. Toro Times’ Leigh Oleszczak asserted that Capers was the “worst” coach in Texans history.
“Capers had four years to try and show that he was the right guy for the job and he never managed to lead the Texans to a winning record,” Oleszczak wrote in January 2025. “The Texans might have struggled under Capers’ guidance but once Gary Kubiak came in, it was clear that this team wasn’t destined to be a basement dweller.
“This is proof that it wasn’t just the Texans being a victim of being an expansion team. No, Dom Capers was simply a bad coach and a poor choice for the expansion Texans.”
Oleszczak noted that good coordinators can be bad head coaches.
Still, it is a striking reminder of the Texans’ earlier seasons under Capers with failed first-round pick David Carr at QB. Especially compared to where they are with Ryans and current franchise passer C.J. Stroud, though the latter faces uncertainty.
Dom Capers Spoke Candidly About Failed Tenure
GettyHouston Texans head coach Dom Capers talks to the box during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
For his part, Capers owned up to the Texans’ shortcomings under his watch during his exit press conference.
“We’ve had some very good times over the last four years and we’ve had some that aren’t quite so good,” Capers told reporters in 2006. “One of the things that I did understand when I took this job was that our responsibility was to win football games. We made good strides over the first three years, but unfortunately this year was not we wanted or expected. Because of that the Texans will have a new head football coach this coming year.”
That remains Capers’ most recent HC gig to this point.
League history is riddled with examples of coaches doing better in their second stops, which the Texans were for Capers. He was also the Panthers’ first head coach, leading them to a record-setting 7-9 inaugural season. That underscores how groundbreaking he was in the lead chair.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
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