Will the Carolina Panthers go one-and-done with their new defensive coordinator?
The 33rd Team senior writer Paul Domowitch recently named seven coordinators who he believes will be in the running for a head-coaching gig in 2024. Among them was Carolina’s Ejiro Evero, who is barely into his first year with the Panthers.
Domowitch writes:
The 42-year-old Evero is in a good spot. With the Carolina Panthers, he’s working for a coach (Frank Reich) with an offensive background. So, any success the team has defensively will go to Evero.
He had interviews with all five of the teams that looked for a head coach this offseason. Part of that could’ve had to do with the Rooney Rule. But a bigger part is Evero is regarded highly around the league.
Last year as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator, his unit held eight of the first nine opponents to 19 points or less. He was offered the interim head-coaching job when the Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett in late December but turned it down.
What Evero didn’t turn down was his opportunity with the Panthers—one he was offered even after losing out on the organization’s top job. Following the hiring of Frank Reich on Jan. 26, the former Denver play caller agreed to join his staff to lead the defense about two weeks later.
And if Evero does ultimately move up the ranks next offseason, the Panthers may not be too spurned. Such a jump, one rewarded by the NFL’s diversity hiring initiative, would give them with a pair of third-round compensatory picks.
