The Carolina Panthers shook up their coaching staff following Thursday night's 27-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced Friday that he's dismissing defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley. Defensive line coach Todd Wash will call the plays as interim defensive coordinator, and outside linebackers coach/run game specialist AC Carter will now also coach the defensive line.
Canales overhauled his defensive staff after Packers quarterback Jordan Love amassed 288 passing yards and three touchdowns on Thursday. The Panthers rank 23rd with 349.6 total yards allowed per game this season and have yielded the sixth-most points per contest (27.6). The 2026 season started disastrously for Evero's defense, which allowed 552 yards in a 59-37 blowout loss to the Chicago Bears.
Carolina responded by winning three of the next four games, including a 34-3 rout over an Atlanta Falcons squad playing without Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa. Yet the defensive woes continued when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gashed Carolina for 258 rushing yards in last Sunday's 43-13 win. The Panthers rank 30th against the run despite containing the Packers to 66 rushing yards on 26 carries.
Carolina ranked fourth in total defense during Evero's first season in 2023. Although the Panthers finished last in points and yards allowed in 2024, they rebounded to 15th and 16th, respectively, in 2025. Cooley also joined the Panthers in 2023, and he and Evero both won a Super Bowl as assistant coaches for the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
Evero spent the 2022 campaign as the Denver Broncos' defensive coordinator. Wash brings 20 years of NFL coaching experience to his interim role. He worked as a DC for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2016 to 2020 before joining Evero's staff in 2023.
The Panthers will look to rebound when they host the Broncos in Week 9.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
