Capers, McCown joining Reich on Panthers’ staff

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dom Capers, the original head coach of the Carolina Panthers from 1995-98, will rejoin the team as a senior defensive consultant to new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, the team announced Friday night.

He will join a staff being put together by new coach Frank Reich, the original starting quarterback of the Panthers under Capers.

Carolina also announced it is bringing back former NFL quarterback Josh McCown to be the team’s quarterbacks coach.

Capers, 72, was senior defensive consultant under Evero at Denver this past season. The two also worked together in 2016 at Green Bay, where Capers was the defensive coordinator and Evero a defensive quality control coach.

Capers told ESPN earlier this week that Evero was a “perfect match for Frank” in terms of personalities and style as the former Indianapolis Colts head coach puts together his staff.

“He’s a top-notch guy,” Capers said of Evero. “Very smart, very well organized, a humble guy. He has a great way of communicating. He did a really good job for me. I was impressed.

The return of Capers, along with Evero, is a strong indication the Panthers are looking to switch from a 4-3 base defense to the 3-4 that Capers has run most of his career and Evero ran last season with the Broncos.

“He did a really, really nice job as the defensive coordinator at Denver,” Capers said. “For most of the season we were ranked in the top five in almost every category.”

Capers led the Panthers to an expansion-record seven wins (7-9 overall) in 1995. They reached the NFC Championship in their second season with a 12-4 regular-season record.

Capers was fired after the 1998 season in which Carolina went 4-12 and finished last in the NFC West. He went on to become the defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars and returned as a head coach with the Houston Texans in their inaugural season (2002).

He spent the 2009-17 seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers. Since then he has worked a senior defensive coordinator for multiple teams.

His defenses consistently have ranked among the best in the NFL, particularly in sacks and quarterback pressures.

McCown, 43, played 16 seasons in the NFL, serving as a backup quarterback for the Panthers in 2008 and 2009.

He interviewed for the Texans’ head-coaching vacancy last year.