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Tennessee football: Top five coaches who worked under Johnny Majors

By Caleb Calhoun

4 Jan 1999: Head Coach Phillip Fulmer of the Tennessee Volunteers excepting an award after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Seminoles 23-16. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Laforet /Allsport
4 Jan 1999: Head Coach Phillip Fulmer of the Tennessee Volunteers excepting an award after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Seminoles 23-16. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Laforet /Allsport /
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Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport
Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport /

DB Coach. Dom Capers. 5. player. Pick Analysis. 839. Scouting Report. 1980-1981

Head coaching record: 48-80 (NFL)

  • Carolina Panthers: 1995-1998 (30-34)
  • Houston Texans: 2002-2005 (18-46)

Yes, Dom Capers worked under Johnny Majors. He was Tennessee football’s secondary coach in 1980 and 1981. Capers came to the SEC after spending years on the West Coast, coaching the Washington Huskies, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, the San Jose State Spartans and the Cal Golden Bears. He started his career, though, with the Kent State Golden Flashes.

While on Rocky Top, Capers was with a team that went 5-6 in 1980. However, in 1981, he was part of a program that underwent dramatic improvement and helped Johnny Majors go 8-4, his first eight-win season and bowl win on Rocky Top. While there, he coached future NFL Pro Bowler and All-SEC defensive back Bill Bates.

After the Vols, Capers spent two years with the Ohio State Buckeyes and another two years in the USFL. Then he went to the NFL, spending five years with the New Orleans Saints and three years as defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers before taking over the expansion franchise the Carolina Panthers in 1995.

At Carolina, Capers won the NFC West, ended the Dallas Cowboys dynasty and reached the NFC Championship all in his second year. After four years, he worked under the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then he spent another four years with another expansion, the Houston Texans.

Similar to Majors, Capers spending four years at two separate expansion teams showed his passion for building something. But it didn’t work out there, so he then joined the Miami Dolphins, spent a year with the New England Patriots and then spent nine years with the Green Bay Packers. After rejoining Jacksonville in 2019, he has now joined the Minnesota Vikings.

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