Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy addressed reporters Tuesday in a season-ending news conference that offered a dose of lukewarm support for defensive coordinator Dom Capers.
Asked if Capers would return next season after Green Bay's defense finished 22nd in the NFL, McCarthy said it was "totally premature to make those decisions. But I feel confident he will be here," according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
McCarthy stressed no "knee-jerk decisions" would be made, saying that every coach and corner of the roster would be examined closely. McCarthy said he "owed" that to Capers and "no decisions will be made today."
"I feel very confident that Dom Capers will be our defensive coordinator," stressed McCarthy, per the newspaper, but it was less than a rock-solid vote of confidence.
The Packers were embarrassed by Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who rumbled for 500-plus yards in three games against Green Bay. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick blew the doors down in Saturday night's playoff win, torching the Packers defense for 181 yards on the ground. Not an argument for Capers, but McCarthy appeared irritated by the suggestion that his assistant's future was being questioned.
"(I) feel it's ridiculous that I have to answer the question," McCarthy said. "I'm appalled by it. I don't dig the drama stuff."
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
