Capers caps long journey

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Eight teams. A quarter century. More job titles and close calls than he wants to remember.

Finally, Dom Capers can be called a Super Bowl champion.

The Packers defensive coordinator, long considered one of the best X-and-O guys in the game, parlayed his first trip to the Super Bowl into his first championship Sunday.

“Twenty-five years to get here, and it’s nice to be able to finish it off,” Capers said. “It’s great to be able to take the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay.”

Capers’ gameplan took a hit when the Packers lost cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Sam Shields to injury for significant stretches and safety Nick Collins for a bit when he needed intravenous fluids.

No panic. Just adjustments.

“We had to play more zone coverage in the second half because we didn’t want to lock some of the other guys up into one-on-one situations,” Capers said.

And so, the veteran coach won his title. He coached two-year-old Carolina Panthers to the NFL title game in the 1990s and also coached the Houston Texans in their expansion years. Around that, he spent time as a defensive coach in Jacksonville, Miami, New Orleans, New England and, yes, even Pittsburgh.

“You have an appreciation for it when you have been doing it for 25 years and this is your first one,” Capers said.