Write or say seemingly anything about the Green Bay Packers on social media and you will receive a flood of complaints about Dom Capers and a multitude of requests, pleas and demands that the defensive coordinator be fired.
Teflon Dom is going nowhere.
Despite the yearly consternation of Packers fans, coach Mike McCarthy has stood by his embattled DC. Speaking on ESPN Radio's Wilde and Tausch show on Thursday, McCarthy compared keeping Capers to how he stuck with kicker Mason Crosby, who could have lost his job in 2012.
"Well, going back to the Mason Crosby comment, and obviously applying that to the question about Dom, I think it's important to recognize, as far as answering your question about it being easy to make that change, it would give everybody a breath of fresh air," McCarthy said, via ESPN's Rob Demovsky.
"I think all of us in life have always gone through experiences in our past that you may have quit on something just to get that fresh, new start, and it feels good but in hindsight it was not the best thing for you. I know I have personally. So I've always held true to that in my decision-making process."
When announcing in January that Capers would return for his ninth season as Green Bay's coordinator, McCarthy noted the injuries on defense that helped lead to the struggles in 2017. The Packers upgraded the secondary in free agency and the draft, but big questions remain about the ability to rush the passer.
For McCarthy, the issues on defense last season weren't about Capers' ability to coach.
"You've got to make right decisions," McCarthy said. "Results don't always prove to be the answer to the right decision. It's no different than the way we view plays, and this is a conversation Dom and I have all the time. ... To me, it's the team, because you have to be realistic. Every team is different. Some teams have different strengths and weaknesses and it depends on the time of year. That's why you have to be realistic about your approach."
