Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers – is he on the hot seat?
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Dom Capers – his name turned from admired to goat after the dust cleared from the San Francisco 49ers‘ pounding of the Green Bay Packers is last season’s NFL Divisional Playoff game.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) is pursued by Green Bay Packers defensive end Mike Neal (96) on a 56-yard touchdown run in the NFC divisional round playoff game at Candlestick Park. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Five-hundred-seventy-nine yards, 181 rushing yards by Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Those are numbers that will rank right up there with “4th and 26″ in Packers horror lore. Forever, fans and team officials will turn away from those numbers with shock and embarrassment.

Starting the day after the shellacking, Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy defended Capers, his defensive coordinator, saying the team would begin the evaluation process and that he had full confidence that they would right the defensive ship.

Indeed the Packers worked on making corrections.

They released longtime CB/safety Charles Woodson, they sent defensive coaches to Texas A&M for a workshop on the read-option in an effort to figure out ways to stop the offensive scheme, they drafted defensive end Datone Jones out of UCLA to help solidify its defensive line, they let outside linebacker Erik Walden walk in free agency, extended a free agent contract to ILB Brad Jones and brought back ILB A.J. Hawk. McCarthy and Ted Thompson, the past two years, have drafted heavily on the defensive side of the ball to give Capers the tools he needs to be competitive.

And though the defense did show vast improvement overall last year, it was that final game that stood out; it revealed every hole and weakness and lowered the Packers from an elite team to also-rans.

The message is clear this year. Capers has the tools to take the team to the next step. His task this off-season was to figure out ways to stop the read-option – and Adrian Peterson. The Packers’ defense will be tested right out of the box when they travel to San Francisco to once more face the 49ers in the 2013 season opener.

And that won’t be the only time the Packers will face the scheme. The Packers play Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins in the second game of the year and there will be other teams that no doubt will throw the read-option at the Packers. Heck, even the Chicago Bears, with fleet-footed (yeah, right) Jay Cutler at the helm, have said they may toy with it.

Yes, the message has been sent … and Capers had better be ready for it.

Adrian Peterson
Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

My thought is that McCarthy and Thompson won’t stand for another failure against the read-option, nor will they stand for another running over by Adrian Peterson. The changes Capers institutes have to work and they have to work well.

If they don’t, I wouldn’t expect Capers to be around long.

What do you think, Packers fans? Will Capers get it figured out and the Packers contain the read-option?

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Jan 5, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers during warmups prior to the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. The Packers won 24-10. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Dom Capers did an excellent job at turning the Green Bay defense into the unit that helped the Packers win the Super Bowl two years ago. However, the Packers defense has not played as well since then despite the amount of talent Capers has had. Also, Capers’ failure to do a consistently good job as defensive coordinator means it is time for the Packers to let Capers walk.

The 49ers game may have been the best example of why the Packers need to fire Dom Capers soon. The Packers had Colin Kaepernick running all over the field and the Packers went into halftime needing to make an adjustment. Instead, Capers stuck with the same failing game plan and it cost the Packers a shot to win as Kaepernick kept running all over the Packers. This game has shown that the Packers need to make a change and there are definitely some good replacement candidates.

Defensive line coach Mike Trgovac had an excellent defense when he was in Carolina as their defensive coordinator and the only reason he left was because he couldn’t work out a new deal. Trgovac already knows the talent on the roster which makes him an excellent candidate for the job and a favroite if Capers is fired.

Jan 7, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart prior to the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the 2013 BCS Championship game at Sun Life Stadium. Alabama won 42-14. Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Another off the radar candidate who should be considered is Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. The NFL’s offensive strategies are being impacted by college football so why not get a defensive coordinator who knows how to stop spread offenses. Smart might be hard to pry from Alabama but Smart is one of the best defensive coordinators in all of football and Green Bay should take a shot at him.

All great defensive coordinators get their shots at some point and the Packers could take their chance on Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker coach Keith Butler. He has done an incredible job at developing linebackers for the Steelers while also getting to learn from one of the NFL’s best defensive coaches, Dick LeBeau. Butler would be an unproven hiring but his experience with Pittsburgh would make him a risk worth taking.