Vikes add former Packers Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers to 2020 Coaching Staff

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On your left!

In another sign that the Vikings under Mike Zimmer are attempting to cross every T and dot every I (-formation) before the final season of his contract, the Vikings have added NFL veteran defensive coach Dom Capers to their coaching staff as a senior defensive assistant. Capers has 32-years of experience as a coach in the NFL, 24 of those as either a defensive coordinator or head coach. That makes the Vikings coaching room the most experienced in the entire NFL, an Avengers level team (with Zimmer obviously being the Thor of the group, considering):

Zimmer after the 49ers game…

Capers brings a wealth of knowledge to an already crowded coaches room, with head coach Mike Zimmer overseeing his son, Adam, and Andre Patterson. Both the younger Zimmer and Patterson were also recently elevated to a co-defensive coordinator position (while still overseeing their previous roles as the linebackers and defensive line coaches, respectively).

On the offensive side of the ball the Vikings have former head coach and offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who is one of the few people in the NFL that could compete with Capers in terms of experience and accolades.

Per ESPN.com; Capers:

He has spent 24 years as a defensive coordinator or head coach. Capers was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers (1995-98) and Houston Texans (2002-05) when both were expansion franchises. He was a defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992-94), Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2000), Miami Dolphins (2006-07) and Green Bay Packers (2009-17).

This is a clear sign that the powers that be in Eagan know that the results of the last two seasons aren’t up to the expectation of the owners/organization, as adding someone of Capers’ pedigree isn’t something you do without a clear reason why (especially considering how involved in the defense Zimmer has been (from top to bottom) since joining the Vikings in 2014).

For Zimmer to fire his longtime sidekick in George Edwards, and then replace him with both Patterson and the younger Zimmer, and then also add someone like Capers… It just shows that he understands that the writing is on the wall and that if there isn’t a deep playoff run in 2020 that his contract (which coincidentally is also up after the 2020 season) may not be renewed, despite rosy statements from the owners stating otherwise.

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