For a second straight year, Ejiro Evero has been denied permission to interview for a defensive coordinator job. The Panthers’ intention to overhaul their operation does not yet mean Evero is gone, and they are keeping him in place for the time being.
Carolina blocked a Jacksonville effort to interview Evero for its newly vacant DC post, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. The Panthers have been linked to viewing Evero as a potential HC, and Fowler adds the team will indeed interview its defensive play-caller for the top job.
This is similar to the start of Evero’s 2023 offseason, when the Broncos had hoped to retain him after its 2022 defense fared well. Evero still interviewed for every HC position last year, including Carolina’s, before Denver ultimately let him out of his coordinator contract. Before the Broncos hired Sean Payton, the team blocked the assistant from interviewing for the Falcons’ DC job.
The Jaguars dismissed Mike Caldwell after two seasons as DC, firing most of their defensive staff as well. While the Jags are set to have a fourth defensive coordinator in five years, they have not previously been connected to Evero, who had spent five years as a Rams assistant under Sean McVay. Four of those Los Angeles seasons featured Evero as a safeties coach, but after McVay elevated him to DBs coach for the team’s 2021 Super Bowl-winning season, the assistant’s stock has skyrocketed.
More to come.