The Houston Texans entered the NFL as the 32nd franchise in 2002. As of this writing, it's the last time the NFL has had a new franchise enter the league. Before the Texans ever took the field in the 2002 regular season, they had to figure out who was going to lead the charge on the sidelines.
The Texans ultimately hired Dom Capers to be their first-ever head coach and, as we know now, it wasn't a wise decision. Capers had experience coaching an expansion team, having led the Carolina Panthers to a 7-9 record during their expansion season in 1995 and then going 12-4 with that same Panthers squad a year later.
While Capers was fired after two disappointing seasons in 1997 and 1998 for Carolina, the Texans were hoping he could get them off to a respectable start. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. The Texans won just four games in Capers' first year, then five in Year 2, and while they jumped up to seven wins in 2004, the Texans put together one of their worst seasons ever in 2005 with just two wins. That led to Capers' dismissal after four years on the job.
Why Dom Capers is the worst head coach in Houston Texans history
Sure, the Texans had a rough go of head coaches in the early 2020s but the difference is those guys (David Culley and Lovie Smith if we're naming names) only got one year each and they were never exactly set up for success. Capers had four years to try and show that he was the right guy for the job and he never managed to lead the Texans to a winning record.
The Texans might have struggled under Capers' guidance but once Gary Kubiak came in, it was clear that this team wasn't destined to be a basement dweller. Kubiak immediately improved things in Houston and by his second year, the 2007 season, the Texans had their first non-losing season. In 2009, they recorded their first winning season and in 2011, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time (and won their first playoff game).
This is proof that it wasn't just the Texans being a victim of being an expansion team. No, Dom Capers was simply a bad coach and a poor choice for the expansion Texans.
After he was fired by the Texans, Capers served as the defensive coordinator for the Dolphins and Packers. He might not have been a serviceable head coach but Capers did well in his defensive coordinator role. As of this writing, he's a senior defensive assistant for the Panthers.
Not everyone is qualified to be a head coach in the NFL but excel in other areas and Dom Caper is an excellent example of this.