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Decision to retain Ejiro Evero proves Dave Canales and Dan Morgan are rightfully betting on continuity

Ejiro Evero's return makes sense in context.

Matt Alquiza

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Ejiro Evero just coordinated the worst defense in the history of the National Football League.

In most careers, finishing a calendar year with the worst results your industry has ever seen usually calls for change. In the case of the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, it results in a vote of confidence and a chance to rectify your past sins. Such is life when the person in charge of the organization is the human embodiment of the television character Ted Lasso; a man who preaches unwavering belief in himself, his peers, and their systems in their march to the top of the table.

Dave Canales' decision to retain Evero came with much fan fare, most of it negative, but his decision to run things back with the defamed coordinator has merit.

Why retaining Ejiro Evero is the right decision for Canales

Evero's sterling pedigree

Ejiro Evero is less than a year removed from being one of the NFL's hottest head coaching candidates. This time last year, the Panthers were on the brink of searching for a new defensive coordinator to replace Evero not because he was fired, but because he was set to earn a promotion with another franchise.

Evero went through two rounds of interviews with the Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Seattle Seahawks for their vacant head coaching positions.

He didn't go from a defensive wunderkind, sure-fire head coaching candidate to maligned defensive coordinator who loses his job in just 11 months. Carolina's defensive performance deserves loads of context.

A defensive talent drain

First, Carolina's 2024 offseason drained much of the talent Evero had to work with. Eight starters from Evero's 2023 defense that finished in the top-five of the NFL in yards allowed were not retained, headlined by Pro Bowl pass rusher Brian Burns. The losses of Burns, Frankie Luvu, Jeremy Chinn, and a handful of other contributors poked too many holes in Carolina's defense for first-year general manager Dan Morgan to fill in his maiden voyage into free agency and the NFL Draft.

A rash of injuries

On top of the offseason talent drain, Evero's first-choice defense was ravaged by injuries. Starting defensive tackle Derrick Brown was lost after one week. Marquee free agent signing DJ Wonnum missed half the season with injury complications. Shaq Thompson went down in week two. It would take an entire article to detail every Panthers defender that missed time with an ailment.

Continuity matters

Congruency throughout an organization is a major key to success in the NFL. Agreement between ownership, the front office, the coaching staff, and the players traditionally leads to success, with the Detroit Lions being the most recent example.

Aaron Glenn coordinated the 2021 Lions defense that allowed 467 points, the second most in the league. Dan Campbell head coached that unit to a 3-13-1 finish. The Ford family preached patience with the struggling coaching staff, and three years later Detroit is the NFC's number one seed and the betting favorites to win Super Bowl 59.

Retaining Evero doesn't guarantee a thing for the Carolina Panthers defense. A clean bill of health and an infusion of talent could mean nothing if Evero's scheme lets the talent down. However, the retention of Evero sends a message to the NFL. Dave Canales and Dan Morgan believe in the much maligned defensive coordinator's process, showing an excess of patience, a trait that this franchise has lacked for much of the 2020's.

Canales and Morgan batting a Ted Williams-esque percentage on calls like this one, and they deserve the benefit of the doubt in this situation as well. Continuity is good. Congruency is great. This is the first offseason since 2021 that the Panthers don't have to shop for a new head coach or coordinator.

It's time to build on Mint Street, and Ejiro Evero is officially one of the key pieces to the blueprint.

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Matt Alquiza
MATT ALQUIZA

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