Dom Capers Talks Return to Carolina
Opening statement
"It's like déjà vu here."
What it's like returning to Carolina
"A guy told me a long time ago if you stay in business long enough, you'll go full circle. As I was driving over here when I arrived, I looked up at the skyline and I couldn't think about how much has changed since back in 1995 when we started. It's great to be back. I have nothing but great memories of my time here."
His role
"My goal is to do as much as I can to help Ejiro be successful as the defensive coordinator and Frank as the head coach. I'll have my hands full probably scouting the opponent for the defense and the tendencies and those types of things. That'll be where a lot of my focus will be in terms of looking at the upcoming opponent."
Why he's still coaching
"Well, I've had a lot of people ask me why are you still doing this? I do it because I enjoy it. Back in '96 we had a lot of national media in here and some guy asked me what do you want to be doing when you're 72 years old? And I looked at him and I said, 'I want to be coaching,' and God willing, here I am still coaching. I enjoy the competitiveness. The X and O part of the game. Still, I don't think there's anything that matches Sunday afternoon for three hours. You put in all that work during the week and there's no in between. You either feel real good or you don't feel very good at all. I don't know what you find to match that when it's all over."
If he saw traits in Frank Reich back in 1995 that would allow him to be a head coach
"He thought out everything. He was a really good decision-maker. I thought he had great leadership ability. It was one of the reasons why he was brought in here to be the first quarterback. I think guys gravitated towards him. It's been fun for me to watch Frank grow through being an assistant coach, a coordinator, and now a head coach. We had our first staff meeting this morning and [he was] very well-organized, very detailed. Creates a vision of what he wants things to look like."
If he believes Evero is a future head coach
"I think he's got the right perspective in terms of he knows that his job is to be the best defensive coordinator in the league. And I think he's got those capabilities. He focuses on the task at hand, what's right in front of him. But there's no doubt in my mind that somewhere down the road, that will happen for him. I think the players here will love playing for him. I saw it happen in Denver in one year."
You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:
Facebook - @PanthersOnSI
Twitter - @AllPanthers_ and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.
