Carolina’s Capers Easy Choice As Coach Of The Year In Nfl

Dom Capers, who led the Carolina Panthers to the NFC West title in just their second season, was easily voted the NFL coach of the year by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Capers received 67 votes and Denver’s Mike Shanahan was a distant second with 22 in balloting by a national panel of 93 sports writers conducted by the AP.

New England’s Bill Parcells, with four votes, was the only other coach named on any ballots. Last year’s winner was Ray Rhodes of Philadelphia.

“I derive a lot of satisfaction from being a member of a team,” said Capers, the defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh before joining the expansion Panthers in 1995. “We talk all the time on our team about the importance of collective effort and how that’s the only way you accomplish anything in this business.”

The Panthers (12-4) earned a playoff berth earlier than any expansion team in league history. That came after a 7-9 first season.