Authoring one of the more interesting stretches by an assistant coach in recent NFL history, Ejiro Evero again has generated considerable interest despite being tied to a bad team. HC and DC interest has come Evero’s way, and it does not appear the Panthers’ HC hire has changed their plans regarding the incumbent defensive play-caller.
With Evero under contract, the Panthers have blocked him from meeting with the Jaguars, Dolphins and Giants. With Dave Canales in the fold, The Athletic’s Joseph Person notes the team still wants to retain Evero. HCs usually bring in their own coordinator, but the Panthers have expressed interest in keeping Evero for weeks. That does not appear a dealbreaker for Canales, who received a six-year contract in the wake of the Panthers firing coaches in-season in back-to-back years (subscription required).
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While Canales looks to want Evero to join OC Brad Idzik on the 2024 Carolina staff, Person adds Evero may now prefer a move elsewhere. A sense around the league points to Evero, 43, aiming to explore a coordinator role outside Charlotte rather than stay with the Panthers for a second season. This is familiar territory for Evero, whom the Broncos attempted to keep last year.
Broncos ownership attempted to convince Sean Payton to retain Evero. The team blocked him from interviewing for the Falcons’ DC gig, but after Evero met with Payton, the Broncos agreed to let their defensive coordinator out of his contract. Multiple teams then expressed interest, and David Tepper is believed to have authorized a higher-end coordinator deal to bring Evero to Charlotte. The landscape looks quite different a year later.
Tepper fired Frank Reich 11 games in, making the well-liked HC the second-shortest-tenured HC (excluding the Rams’ firing of George Allen before the 1978 season) since the merger. It would be understandable if Evero was less interested in staying under a head coach that did not hire him. These arranged marriages can lead to quick separations, and Evero’s 2023 season did not go especially well. Although the Panthers ranked fourth in total defense, they finished 29th in points allowed — a number the team’s anemic offense influenced — and 25th in defensive DVOA.
Evero’s Broncos defense fared better, ranking 14th in points ceded, seventh in total defense and 13th in DVOA. The Broncos hired Vance Joseph to replace Evero, whose teams have won a…