Suppose someone had told a Carolina Panthers fan at the end of the 2024 season that Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero would be a top candidate for a potential head coaching job. In that case, they might have looked at them like they had two heads.
Last season, the Panthers were among the worst defenses in the NFL. According to Fox Sports, the Panthers ranked last in yards allowed per game at 404.5 and also allowed the most touchdowns in the NFL with 61. A massive overhaul on defense was needed, and that’s exactly what the Panthers did this offseason.
In free agency, the Panthers added Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown III, Tre’von Moehrig, Patrick Jones II, and Christian Rozeboom. In the draft, they added immediate impact players in Princely Umanmielen and Nic Scourton. All of those elements have contributed to an improved defense and renewed interest in Evero as a head coach.
Back in the Mix
Ejiro Evero, 44, isn’t new to being a head coaching candidate. Evero has spent 17 seasons in the NFL coaching offense, defense, and special teams in his career after playing safety at UC Davis in college.
In 2021, as the Los Angeles Rams’ secondary coach and passing game coordinator, Evero won Super Bowl LVI. 2022 was Evero’s first crack at being a defensive coordinator in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, but it was short-lived after Nathaniel Hackett was fired in-season and Sean Payton was hired. Evero was released from his contract and signed with the Panthers as their defensive coordinator in 2023.
Evero has been a head-coaching candidate before, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com wrote in his November 19 article. Pelissero discussed how Evero’s improved Panthers defense is once again making him a candidate.
“Evero’s defense has improved this season (13th in scoring) on a Carolina team in the playoff hunt,” Pelissero said. “He interviewed for eight head coaching jobs in the hiring cycles after the 2022 and 2023 seasons, earning second interviews with the Colts, Falcons, Panthers, Seahawks, and Texans, and could be in the mix again.”
Evero has the Panthers’ defense operating at a much higher level this season, jumping from dead last year to 15th in total defense halfway through the season. Many Panthers fans didn’t understand why Evero kept his job after the defense was so porous in 2024, but Panthers head coach Dave Canales saw the vision.
Canales Believed in Evero
The Panthers’ defensive turnaround has been a full-team effort, from management acquiring key players to coaches developing them. One of the most significant factors, though, was Dave Canales still believing in Ejiro Evero as the defensive coordinator. Despite the disastrous 2024 season, the Panthers had overcome.
In January, after the Panthers’ season ended, Canales discussed his decision to bring Evero back. Anthony Rizzuti of Panthers Wire wrote about Canales’ comments.
“Yeah, I’ve played against this defense,” Canales stated. “I’ve played against it in Seattle with the Rams for a bunch of years. I played against it twice last year. I know what this defense will look like. And I’m committed to that, Ejiro’s committed to that.”
Canales then foreshadowed the elements that would lead to the Panthers’ turnaround.
“So, it’s about developing the players we brought in. It’s about evaluating our schemes—so we have to be able to look at our schemes and be really critical of all those things as well,” Canales said. “And it’s about seeing who’s out there to challenge our roster, who can help us to get this defense to the place that we know we can.”
The Panthers are entering the most challenging part of their schedule, starting with the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, and they’ll need their defense to step up to the challenge.
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