FEBRUARY 1: Confirming Evero remains in the Panthers’ plans, Canales said Thursday the incumbent DC is “a huge piece” of his vision as head coach. After blocking three DC interviews, the Panthers appear intent on following through with a Canales-Evero partnership.
JANUARY 31: 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 combined seven games over the past two seasons. Clubs are still monitoring this situation, but the Panthers — for now, at least — are keeping him off the coordinator market. In addition to the Giants and Dolphins, the Rams are believed to be interested. Evero spent five seasons on Sean McVay‘s staff, but the team has interviewed Raheem Morris‘ DC predecessor — Brandon Staley, who supervised Evero in 2020 — on Wednesday. Seeing as three teams have seen their interview requests denied, it would be natural for them to look elsewhere. Counting the positions in Seattle and Washington, eight DC jobs remain unfilled.
Elsewhere on the Panthers’ staff, Person adds they are not retaining pass-game coordinator Parks Frazier. Considering Frazier’s ties to Reich, this is hardly surprising. Frazier finished the 2022 season as the Colts’ play-caller, rising from his assistant QBs coach post after two other Indianapolis staffers turned down the gig under Jeff Saturday. Reich brought Frazier with him to Carolina, but after the Panthers’ offense faceplanted in 2023, a full-on overhaul looks set to commence.
Canales has already figured out how to be a ‘yes man’ it seems.
On what basis?
He has to keep the DC. The new HC should be able to build his own staff, not the front office/owner.
He’s getting at least some say. Chris Tabor was getting blocked from interviews but was fired once Canales came in.
Everything we’ve seen from Tepper tells a different story. What is ‘some say’ mean for building your staff?
I don’t think Tabor getting fired means Canales gets say. I think it means they were holding onto Tabor until they chose a direction.
Why have most of the hires so far been former Bucs coaches then?
I don’t think just because Canales wants to keep Eviro, that necessarily makes him a “yes man.”
Eviro is a pretty well thought-of young defensive mind. I don’t think it would be all that farfetched to think Canales might have even still sought out Eviro as his defensive coordinator no matter where he landed. I mean, Eviro would undoubtedly be on any Head Coaches list that has a vacancy at the DC spot.
We have even seen several teams already try to take him away from the Panthers, so it is certainly understandable why Tepper wants to keep him as well.
Honestly, we have no real way of knowing who Canales really wanted to target as his DC. Unless he’s specified otherwise in previous interviews, all we can do is speculate.
Now, even with that being said, Canales’ level of success significantly depends on who is ultimately chosen to lead the Panthers defense. At the end of the day, I would imagine that he just wants someone he meshes with well and whomever he thinks can do the job at a high level.
Personally, I think the Panthers would be really wise to hold on to Eviro.
I think the real question here is whether or not Eviro truly wants to stay with the Panthers.
Also, having the 4th rated total defense isn’t exactly a bad season, ESPECIALLY with how awful the Panthers offense performed. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d actually consider that an amazing job by Eviro.
I think there’s different weights you add to measure the importance of certain statistics, but total defense is a stat that carries a pretty decent load.
Put it this way. If you asked any analysts going into last season, I don’t think there’s anyone that would have had the Panthers finishing top 5 defensively in any category, much less in total defense.
By that measure, I think he was able to help lead the Panthers defense to a level that greatly exceeded expectations!!
I agree with what everyone is saying, but it differs from what Tepper is doing. I can’t honestly believe Frank didn’t mention the QB situation last year, & players in the draft during the interview process. Everything I’ve read was Frank wanted Stroud. Guess who got drafted?
Tepper refused to let the ST coordinator interview, only to fire him 1-2 weeks later. And now he’s forcing Evero to stay in a situation he doesn’t want to be in.
Think of it this way; Tepper is so bad, he had to give a 1 year OC a fully guaranteed 6 year contract to be the HC. No one wants to be w/ the Panthers, less for a paycheck.
I thought what they did to Tabor was not cool. That being said, that’s life as an NFL coach. Comes with the job and the pay check.
Evero wants out. I’m sure he’s got his reasons. But he did sign a contract and cash Teppers checks. That is also part of the job being an NFL coach.
Again, I agree. But what aspiring coordinators want to work there after this offseason? It’s a place where careers go nowhere; which means death in the Not For Long league.
@arty! I think you’re making some pretty good points.
It’s also a gat chance that Teoper has learned his lesson.
York was power struggling with Harbaugh, getting in the way, and then hired a set of yes men after that, but with Lynch and Kyle Shannahan he finally got the hint to take a step back. It’s also possible Kyle put him in check, and told him how it was going to be or else he wasn’t signing with the 49ers. I mean, who knows?
The point is York has taken a step back ever since, and it looks like he learned his lesson the hard way. Now, is that very common? ABSOLUTELY NOT
I’m saying all of this to say, maybe Canales told Tepper he like Eviro and wants to keep him, but let him make his own staff??
Idk, maybe Canales is a yes man, and that’s why he was hired, because he could be controlled. I am just not ready to openly give Canales a bad rep without a little more insight.
I’m also not a Panthers fan, though, so you might have more insight into the nayyer than I do. Like I said, your points do make sense, and, typically, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck..lol
Evero deserves a chance to be a coordinator with a stable head coach and stable organization. I’d love to see what he could do with the Rams or Packers.
Evero going to GB would be perfect and would only add to his already growing stock should he succeed but sadly it won’t happen because he’s in prison in Charlotte courtesy of Tepper
So just how many head coaches are the Panthers paying for??
3?
I know HC’s can be traded. Can coordinators? It’d be great to get some draft capital back. Even if it’s a mid round pick.
Come to GB.