Considering they remain winless through about a quarter of the season, it might be difficult for someone to sell the Carolina Panthers coaching staff at the moment. But not for Sports Illustrated senior writer Conor Orr.
Orr recently published his annual future head coaches index—an “exhaustive list” (Conor’s words, not ours) that accounts for names who will, may and/or should be considered for openings this offseason. Amongst the slew of those mentioned are eight current Panthers assistants—beginning with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
Evero, according to Orr, is considered a “lock” to nail down a new job in 2024. He writes:
“Ejiro is a star, man. A bona fide future head coach,” an NFC coach says. “Impressive” was the first word that came on another text about Evero, whose body of work last year as the defensive coordinator with the Broncos is worth a deep dive. Denver allowed 20 or fewer points in nine games last season, but the way in which he manipulated and transformed his personnel to attack opponents on a week-to-week basis was epic. Evero has an elite coaching apprenticeship résumé, having worked under Jim Harbaugh, Mike McCarthy, Sean McVay and now Frank Reich. His quiet confidence is a respect generator. Evero was among the most sought-after defensive coordinators on the market after a series of head coaching interviews last year with the Colts and Panthers, among other teams.
Despite Carolina’s 0-4 start, Evero has his unit working at a pretty admirable rate—even with injuries to key starters such as cornerback Jaycee Horn and linebacker Shaq Thompson. Heading into Week 4’s Monday nighter, the Panthers have allowed the 14th-fewest total yards per game (313.0), the sixth-fewest first downs (40) and have racked up a respectable 12 sacks.
Heck, they were even able to “hold” Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson down to 85 yards in Sunday’s loss. Granted, he scored two touchdowns and the run defense was quite leaky—but those 85 yards were a far cry from what the All-Pro pass catcher did in his first three weeks.
Evero is joined on the list by his following co-workers:
- Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown
- Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown
- Assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley
- Secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley
- Assistant defensive backs coach DeAngelo Hall
- Linebackers coach Peter Hansen
- Outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu
