By Mark Bergin, WRAL senior multiplatform producer

The Carolina Panthers will retain defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero for the 2025 season, head coach Dave Canales announced Monday.

“Yeah, I’ve played against this defense,” Canales said Monday. “I’ve played against it in Seattle with the Rams for a bunch of years.

“I played against it twice last year. I know what this defense will look like. And I’m committed to that, Ejiro’s committed to that, so it’s about developing the players that we’ve brought in and evaluating our schemes. So, we have to be able to look at our schemes and be really critical of all those things as well. And, it’s about seeing who’s out there to challenge our roster and who can help us to get to get this defense to the place where we know we can.”

On Monday, Canales hinted the Panthers could make changes to other defensive coaches for next season.

“We have a lot of things to evaluate over the next couple of days and then certainly into the offseason to reflect on our schemes, to reflect on our personnel, to reflect on the guys we have here, going forward,” Canales said.

The 2024 Panthers set an NFL record for points allowed in a season at (534).

Here is how the Panthers ranked defensively in the 2024 regular season:

• 31.41 points allowed per game (32nd in the NFL)
• 404.53 yards allowed per game (32nd in the NFL)
• 6.0 yards allowed per play (32nd in the NFL)
• 224.71 passing yards allowed per game (23rd in the NFL)
• 179.82 rushing yards allowed per game (32nd in the NFL)

Carolina’s defense had several injuries to key defensive players in 2024. It includes losing Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown after Week 1, linebacker Shaq Thompson after Week 4 and Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn after Week 16.

In March 2024, linebacker Frankie Luvu signed a three-year contract with the Washington Commanders. Safety Jeremy Chinn signed a one-year deal with the Commanders. That same month, the Panthers traded edge rusher Brian Burns to the New York Giants.

Evero, 43, is a carryover from previous head coach Frank Reich. Under Canales, Evero remained the team’s defensive coordinator due to the defensive production in 2023.

In 2023, the Panthers allowed 293.94 yards per game (fourth-best in the NFL) and 24.47 points per game (fourth-best in the NFL). The 2023 season marked Evero’s first season as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator.

Source: wralsportsfan.com