With a Thursday night matchup against the Atlanta Falcons coming up quickly, the Carolina Panthers don’t have much time to make adjustments heading into Week 10. So, they got moving right away.
As announced by the team on early Monday morning, interim head coach Steve Wilks dismissed defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni and cornerbacks coach Evan Cooper. These departures come less than 24 hours after an embarrassing Week 9 performance, one where they allowed 241 rushing yards and six total touchdowns in a 42-21 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 73-year-old Pasqualoni was hired into his post this past offseason in a sweeping revamp led by then head coach Matt Rhule. 2022 marked his 50th year of coaching between both the collegiate and pro levels.
In addition to yesterday’s outing, Carolina’s defensive line has not had a particularly impactful season. The Panthers, through nine games, have now totaled just 14.0 sacks—the fourth-lowest total in the NFL.
Cooper, who has spent the last three seasons with the organization, was a 2020 carryover by Rhule from Baylor University.
Defensive assistant Bobby Maffei will take up Cooper’s responsibilities with pass rush specialist Don Johnson and assistant defensive line coach Terrance Knighton working on Pasqualoni’s void.
