Why Carolina Panthers Can't Fire DC Ejiro Evero... Yet

Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson (2) talks with defensive coach Ejiro Evero IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Why Carolina Panthers Can't Fire DC Ejiro Evero... Yet

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Oct 27, 2026 8:00 AM ET

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has had a very up-and-down tenure with the Carolina Panthers. The highs have unfortunately not been very high, and the lows have been abominably low. Sunday was yet another low.

In Evero's defense, there are a substantial number of injuries on defense. Missing Jaelan Phillips, Jaycee Horn, and Mike Jackson certainly doesn't make life easy on a defensive coordinator. There are, because of that and more, holes in this unit even still.

Additionally, the defensive coordinator doesn't tackle. He doesn't make interceptions. He doesn't cover receivers. He can only do so much, and players not executing is a big part of the equation. Players play, and coaches coach.

Ultimately, though, that doesn't really matter. Coaches are scapegoated all the time, and it's not always the wrong idea. Evero can't tackle, but a consistent lack of tackling under him is problematic. It all reflects on the coaching, even if he isn't out on the field.

And so, after all this time and the ups and downs, we've come to the conclusion that Evero needs to be fired. It may not be his fault entirely, but if anything's going to get better, something has to change. And personnel is a whole lot harder to change at this point.

So, Evero's time should be up. But not yet.

Panthers can't move on from Ejiro Evero yet

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Panthers can't fire Ejiro Evero. It's difficult to fire a coordinator in-season and promote someone else to the position, but it's almost impossible for anything to happen in such a condensed week.

The Panthers travel to take on the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football. Dave Canales said they essentially had their Monday meeting on Sunday because of the short week. They will have had a total of three days to prepare, not including gamedays Sunday and Thursday.

It is hard enough to prepare for a game in that period, let alone get a new coordinator up to speed, even if it's someone on the coaching staff already (like Peter Hansen, who called plays some during the preseason).

But this short week leads to a long week. They'll play Thursday and then have nine days between gamedays, which is more time to implement changes. So, if the Panthers fire Evero on Friday morning, they'll have plenty of time to change things.

Kaye's Take: I think it's important to point out how bad the talent was on defense in 2024 when the defense gave up the most rushing yards in a season since 1980.

But it's also worth pointing out if you take away the 8 occurrences of 200 or more rushing yards in 2024 (which…
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) October 26, 2026

It bears mentioning that the same logic applies to any moves. If the Panthers are going to sign Marshon Lattimore, trade for Sauce Gardner, or trade for Josh Sweat, they probably won't do it before Thursday.

Why the Panthers wasted the bye week as it pertains to any of that is beyond us, but they have a second mini-bye coming up that could open the door to the changes we believe are necessary.

Dave Canales has said that he's seen what Evero's scheme can look like, and it can look really good. That is true. But in Carolina, it never has. And after a certain point, it becomes clear that it's not working.

It's not working, and it's time to make a change. Just not yet.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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