Seven months ago, the Carolina Panthers stood in front of a 73,426-strong Bank of America Stadium, leading the wild card game 31-27, with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter against the LA Rams. For most of the night, that 16th-best defense under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero had stopped multiple strategies by Matthew Stafford – until those final two minutes hit.

The reigning league MVP sliced the defense to win 34-31. Safe to say, it didn’t take long for many to question if that was Evero’s last show in North Carolina. It wasn’t. Turns out, not only is head coach Dave Canales keeping Evero in, but he is also keeping most of his practices the same, including who makes the calls in their preseason matchups. Except, that decision may have given the fans a peek into early troubles staring at the Panthers.

According to The Athletic’s Joe Person, Canales said that passing game coordinator and secondary coach Jonathan Cooley called the defense as the Panthers played the Arizona Cardinals Thursday night and came out of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium winning 33-30.

Cooley calling the defensive snaps wasn’t a surprising decision, though. The passing game coordinator, who has been with the team since February 2023, has had multiple opportunities to call defensive plays.

Get The Huddle Newsletter. The day's biggest NFL stories — rivalries, matchups, expert analysis, power rankings, and insider draft news.

Back in September 2024 during the preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills, he took charge of the defense in the second half of Carolina’s 31-26 win. He also had playcalling duties in the team’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, where they lost 30-10. However, for now, there’s a bigger question looming over the Panthers’ heads.

The Panthers may have a bigger problem ahead of the 2026 season

While the team did win its preseason opener, the worrying fact was the defensive unit and its depth. If Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, or Tre’von Moehrig were unavailable in any games, with what we saw last night, anyone behind them wouldn’t be able to hold the fort. Here’s why I make the claim:

• Thursday night was Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck’s first NFL action. It didn’t look like it. In the first half alone, Carolina gave up 148 passing yards with Beck taking all QB snaps. He went 11-for-14 passing and averaged over 10 yards per completion in that time period. He ended his night throwing 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown without an interception.
• In the second half, QB Kedon Slovis completed 9 of 10 throws for 106 yards and one touchdown and no interception.
• Arizona’s receiver Jalen Brooks posted three catches for 99 yards in the first half.
• Granted, Horn and Jackson did not suit up Thursday, but the Panthers’ remaining secondary also didn’t perform, whether it was a deep pass down the field or short passes.

It was just a Hall of Fame Game played in a preseason series, and it won’t even matter, but it did give a glimpse into what the team needs to improve as a priority. They, of course, have some time before announcing the final roster. Other than their secondary, the Panthers’ defensive lineup looks solid.

Derrick Brown remains an important part of the Panthers’ defensive line. Carolina also added Bobby Brown III, Tershawn Wharton, Cam Jackson and LaBryan Ray to give the line more strength and depth. At linebacker, the Panthers added Devin Lloyd and also have Nic Scourton to add more talent to the defense.

As for Cooley, we can see why Canales could continue giving him more responsibilities.

Jonathan Cooley himself gave Dave Canales a reason to trust him with the responsibilities

Back in 2024, when he took control against the Bills, Cooley was confused about which buttons he needed to push to talk to whom. Interestingly, after the lesson time was over and the coach did a good job of leading his squad, Canales had already planned Cooley’s future.

“These titles come with responsibility,” Canales said after the preseason opener in 2024, pointing to Cooley as an example. “And it’s an ascension of where his career is headed, is to be a defensive coordinator at some point.”

That expectation was no joke as Cooley had proven his potential that day. Preseason games usually mean matching your personnel to what the opponents are sending. But Cooley took it more seriously.

At one point, the Bills were facing a second-and-3 when DJ Johnson sacked Anthony Brown for a loss of eight yards. Subsequently, the Bills had to punt the football.

“I thought the down and distance, I was expecting them to pass,” Cooley said of that quick decision after the win. “So, I figured pressure would give us a shot to get them into a third and long situation. That was probably like, oh, that was a good call right there.”

With a good resume backing him up, we can see why Canales hopes Cooley continues to grow in the league.

Jonathan Cooley joined the Carolina Panthers in February 2023. Before that, he spent two seasons with the LA Rams alongside the current Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Cooley also gained important experience with the Rams, who won Super Bowl 56 in the 2021 season.

During that season, he worked with Evero, who coached the Rams’ secondary. Cooley started his college coaching career at Kentucky as a defensive graduate assistant from 2015-16.

Cooley started his coaching career at Kentucky, working as a defensive graduate assistant from 2015 to 2016. He then became a defensive backs coach at Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2017. Under his coaching, the team had a strong defense and led the Southern Conference in both total defense and pass defense.

All this experience helped the Panthers trust him with bigger coaching duties. As the team prepares for its second preseason game against the Bills, it would be interesting to see who gets to call the defense against the squad led by QB Josh Allen.