Packers fire defensive coordinator Dom Capers, per reports

For the first time in nine years, the Green Bay Packers has made a change at defensive coordinator. According to multiple reports, the team fired Dom Capers on Sunday.

The Packers have yet to announce their decision to move on from Dom Capers, and they could take their time to make the move official. Still, Capers' struggles to field a consistently good defense in recent years along with Green Bay missing the playoffs for the first time during his tenure force head coach Mike McCarthy's hand.

Capers arrived in Green Bay in 2009 and rejuvenated the defense. The Packers finished atop the conference in defensive DVOA in each of his first two seasons, culminating in a win in Super Bowl XLV. However, the unit regressed following the championship, finishing as one of the NFL's worst defenses in 2011. Capers did bounce back in 2012, but a historic dismantling at the hands of Colin Kaepernick in the playoffs that season overshadowed any progress.

From there, Capers' defenses pogoed between average to poor. 2017 saw the Packers finish in the bottom half of the league by DVOA and 26th in points allowed. That performance left the team exposed without Aaron Rodgers, who missed much of the year with a broken collarbone.

With Capers out of the picture, the Packers can begin the search for his replacement in earnest. Earlier reports suggested they will pursue Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, but in-house options could also garner consideration.

In any case, the Packers defense will have a new boss next season.