The Panthers strip Ejiro Evero of defensive coordinator duties

The Carolina Panthers relieved Ejiro Evero of his defensive coordinator duties Friday, the team announced, less than a day after a 27-19 Thursday night loss at Green Bay. Defensive line coach Todd Wash takes over as interim coordinator for the final 10 games.

Defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley was also let go. Outside linebackers coach AC Carter adds the defensive line, and secondary coach Renaldo Hill now runs the whole defensive backfield, according to ESPN.

The Packers piled up 354 net yards and four touchdowns Thursday, and nobody in Charlotte should pretend that game was the reason. The run defense has been a problem for two years. Through seven games Carolina ranks 30th against the run and is giving up 27.6 points a game, sixth most in the league. The Bears ran for 291 yards and eight total touchdowns against them in Week 1. The Bucs ran for 258 in Week 6.

The longer record is worse. Since 2024, opponents have hit 200 rushing yards against Evero's defense 12 times, six more than any other unit, per ESPN. In 2024 his group became the first defense since 1980 to allow 3,000 rushing yards in a season. Most coordinators do not survive two more seasons after a number like that.

To be fair to Evero, he had good moments. His first Carolina defense in 2023 ranked fourth overall, and this year his group held Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs in check in wins over Atlanta and Detroit. The pass defense ranks ninth. But a defense that can shut down two elite backs and then get run over by Chicago and Tampa Bay is a defense with a coaching problem.

Wash has done this job before. He ran Jacksonville's defense from 2016 to 2020, and his 2017 unit ranked second in the league as the Jaguars reached the AFC Championship Game. Evero, 45, had been in charge since 2023, before Dave Canales was hired as head coach.

The firing also puts more on Canales. He kept a coordinator he did not hire, and now it is his staff and his season.

What to watch: Whether Wash changes the front and run fits right away, and whether opponents keep testing Carolina on the ground.