ducks
01-01-2006, 10:25 PM
Texans to fire Capers, keep GM
By KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP Sports Writer
January 1, 2006
HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Texans will fire coach Dom Capers, but will retain general manager Charley Casserly, a person close to the organization told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The Texans plan to make the announcement Monday, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The team lost Sunday to the San Francisco 49ers to finish the season 2-14, the worst record in the NFL and the worst record in the Texans' four-season history.
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The firing would make the second time Capers, 55, has been released from an expansion team in its fourth season. He was let go by the Carolina Panthers in 1998.
Capers' plan for bringing along the Texans slowly and building for future success worked well until this season. The Texans won seven games last season after winning five in 2003 and four in their first season.
Houston opened this season 0-6 before beating Cleveland and then losing six more. The Texans got a win over the Arizona Cardinals and then lost their last two games. They own the top pick in April's draft.
Capers, who has one year remaining on his five-year Texans contract worth $9.5 million, was hailed as an expansion wizard after leading Carolina to seven wins in its first season and the NFC title game in the team's second year in 1996. The feat earned him NFL Coach of the Year honors.
Things went downhill from there and Capers was fired after the Panthers went 4-12 in 1998.
He worked for two years as defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars before he was hired by the Texans in January 2001.
He began his coaching career at Kent State in 1972 as a graduate assistant and spent three seasons there while earning a masters degree in administration. He was also a college assistant at Washington, Hawaii, San Jose State, California, Tennessee and Ohio State.
His first pro job came when he joined Jim Mora's staff in the USFL. Capers made it to the NFL in 1986 when he went with Mora to New Orleans.
He became defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh in 1992 before being hired in Carolina in 1995.
By KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP Sports Writer
January 1, 2006
HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Texans will fire coach Dom Capers, but will retain general manager Charley Casserly, a person close to the organization told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The Texans plan to make the announcement Monday, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The team lost Sunday to the San Francisco 49ers to finish the season 2-14, the worst record in the NFL and the worst record in the Texans' four-season history.
ADVERTISEMENT
The firing would make the second time Capers, 55, has been released from an expansion team in its fourth season. He was let go by the Carolina Panthers in 1998.
Capers' plan for bringing along the Texans slowly and building for future success worked well until this season. The Texans won seven games last season after winning five in 2003 and four in their first season.
Houston opened this season 0-6 before beating Cleveland and then losing six more. The Texans got a win over the Arizona Cardinals and then lost their last two games. They own the top pick in April's draft.
Capers, who has one year remaining on his five-year Texans contract worth $9.5 million, was hailed as an expansion wizard after leading Carolina to seven wins in its first season and the NFC title game in the team's second year in 1996. The feat earned him NFL Coach of the Year honors.
Things went downhill from there and Capers was fired after the Panthers went 4-12 in 1998.
He worked for two years as defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars before he was hired by the Texans in January 2001.
He began his coaching career at Kent State in 1972 as a graduate assistant and spent three seasons there while earning a masters degree in administration. He was also a college assistant at Washington, Hawaii, San Jose State, California, Tennessee and Ohio State.
His first pro job came when he joined Jim Mora's staff in the USFL. Capers made it to the NFL in 1986 when he went with Mora to New Orleans.
He became defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh in 1992 before being hired in Carolina in 1995.