Carolina's two-game skid has led to a coaching shakeup.
The Panthers announced Friday morning that they've fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley.
Defensive line coach Todd Wash has been named interim DC and will call plays.
Evero joined the Panthers in 2023 under former coach Frank Reich and was retained when Dave Canales took over in 2024. Evero previously worked in Denver as defensive coordinator under Nathaniel Hackett in 2022 after five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.
Evero was viewed as an excellent young defensive mind and has generated some head coaching interest in the past, but his defenses have been middling in Carolina over four years, never ranking higher than 15th in points allowed. After a solid first season, the Panthers have struggled mightily on that side of the ball, ranking dead last in 2024, and have regularly been porous against the run.
The Panthers have had a slew of injuries sap their defense this season, including losing both starting corners; high-priced pass rusher Jaelan Phillips has missed time, and promising pass rusher Nic Scourton suffered a season-ending injury before the campaign started.
That missing talent wasn't enough of an excuse for Evero to keep his job.
The past two games have been rough for Carolina. The Week 7 loss to Tampa Bay was an embarrassing effort overall, but it was particularly bad for the defense, which got run over like a JV squad. Thursday night's 27-19 loss in Green Bay was little better. They stopped a moribund Packers rushing attack but got diced up by Jordan Love.
Wash will attempt to turn things around on defense. The journeyman D-line coach was last a defensive coordinator in Jacksonville (2016-2020), famously leading the 2017 "Sacksonville" squad.
With the back-to-back losses, the Panthers let their grip on a weak NFC South slip.
There is more wrong in Carolina than a defense that entered Thursday Night Football ranked 27th in points allowed per game, 22nd in yards allowed per game and 32nd in rush yards allowed. All three phases have contributed to the 3-4 start to the season, including Canales' offense going in the tank the past two weeks.
