The Carolina Panthers are pulling familiar emergency levers, echoing the 2022 shake-up that took out defensive coordinator Phil Snow after Matt Rhule was fired. This time, the franchise has made a frantic mid-season move: firing defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero less than 12 hours after a 27-19 primetime loss to the Green Bay Packers dropped their record to 3-4. But this wasn’t entirely a coaching failure. After all, no coordinator in football can scheme around a training room bleeding functional bodies at every critical position.

“Sources: Panthers are letting go of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on X.

Evero had anchored the defense in Carolina since 2023, bringing a respected resume from his Super Bowl run with the Los Angeles Rams, and a reputation as a rising head coaching candidate. But after weathering 59 games on the sidelines and struggling through a unit that ranks 30th in rushing defense, the front office chose to wipe the slate clean.

Yet, pinning the defensive collapse entirely on the playbook ignores what’s unfolding in the building. Week after week, mounting injuries have left the coaching staff with very few functioning bodies to deploy.

The depleted depth chart
Before the turf at Lambeau Field even settled on Thursday night, the injury ledger for the Panthers was staggering. Starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson missed extended time following their placements on injured reserve. Even depth option Akayleb Evans was forced onto the IR list with knee and triceps injuries.

Up front, the front-seven rotation took an equally brutal beating. Long-term setbacks to edge rushers Nic Scourton and Thomas Incoom, alongside defensive tackle Cam Jackson, blew holes in the team’s run-stopping abilities, forcing a patchwork secondary with backups and rookies to face a tight Thursday turnaround against Jordan Love & Co.

The resulting loss also highlighted the bigger concerns. Against the Packers, this unit surrendered 354 total yards and allowed 9-of-16 3rd downs. While they only allowed 66 rushing yards in this game, this unit has surrendered over 200 rushing yards in a league-leading 12 games since 2024 under Evero, including a 258-yard ground assault by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just days before the coaching purge. It’s clear that the personnel attrition played a big role in this unit’s unraveling.

For Evero, the writing has probably been on the wall since mid-September, when his fourth season in Charlotte started with an ominous 59-37 blowout loss to the Chicago Bears. It marked the most points allowed by the Panthers in their 32-year history. At the time, head coach Dave Canales publicly stood by his coordinator, attempting to weather the early storm.

“I like our system. I like our scheme,” Canales had said. “I’ve seen this scheme work at a high level, and I’ve seen us work in this scheme at a high level. We need to find that week in and week out. All of us are disappointed with how it played out, but this is the work we have.”

But Canales couldn’t sustain that optimism.
After the Week 8 loss, the defensive purge didn’t stop with Evero. The franchise also let go of defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley.

Cooley had originally arrived in Charlotte in 2023 as the secondary and cornerbacks coach after earning a Super Bowl ring with the Rams alongside Evero. Just like his DC, Cooley had established himself as a trusted voice. That helped him transition into the defensive passing game coordinator role through the last two campaigns (2024, 2025), and the current one. But as the secondary struggled with injuries, he, too, became part of the collateral damage.

As for the decision itself, Dave Canales took full accountability when addressing reporters, noting that he consulted with owner David Tepper and General Manager Dan Morgan before carrying the burden himself.

“I take that responsibility very seriously as the head coach,” Canales said. “I know it’s my responsibility to put the players in a position where they feel confident, they feel ready to go. I just want to see the guys connected. I want to see them excited about going out there and executing the plan, playing fast, playing physical. The effort has been there. Those things are right, but I know we can make strides with being able to get everybody on the same page.”

Canales also added that he “took in a lot of information” before he made up his mind.

“Ultimately, this is my decision. This falls squarely under the responsibilities of the head coach. Ultimately, it had to come from me,” he said.

The Panthers have since turned inward to stabilize the locker room. Long-time defensive line coach Todd Wash stepped up as the interim defensive coordinator, bringing over three decades of experience – including coordinating a 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars defense that ranked second in the league – to call the plays. Canales expressed strong confidence in Wash’s ability to unite the players moving forward.

“I’ve known him for a long time,” Canales said. “His connection with the players, he knows these guys, he knows their stories, he’s connected to their lives. He pushes them hard and trains them hard, and he does a great job of earning the right to be able to push guys because of the emotional equity that he pours in. I appreciate that, and I’m excited about what happens with the whole group when they get connected and play together.”

Other assistants absorbed expanded roles. Renaldo Hill will continue to oversee the defensive backs, while outside linebacker coach/run game specialist AC Carter’s duties will now increase to help coach the defensive line. Despite all this turbulence, the Panthers remain tied for first in the NFC South, leaving the second half of the season as a true test of whether internal shuffling can fix the depth chart crisis as well.