The Carolina Panthers are making a change to the coaching staff. On Friday, they fired Ejiro Evero after an offseason spending spree failed to materialize into tangible results. They also fired passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley.
That left the staff shorthanded. Todd Wash, the defensive line coach, was elevated to interim defensive coordinator, with AC Carter, the inside linebackers coach, adding the defensive line to his responsibilities.
That left everyone a bit spread thin, so the Panthers are making a new hire. Former NFL defensive back DeAngelo Hall is joining to help coach cornerbacks, which was a big part of what Cooley did.
Hall is a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback, and he served as the Panthers’ assistant defensive backs coach in 2023 and 2024. Notably, Jaycee Horn earned his first Pro Bowl nod with Hall on the staff.
The Panthers need all the help they can get in the secondary, and that includes at the coaching level. They have been maligned by injuries. Right now, Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, and Akayleb Evans are all on Injured Reserve.
It is unclear if Will Lee’s hamstring injury will force an IR stint, but regardless, it’ll be a multi-week absence. They are almost pulling players off the street to play cornerback, so if there’s anyone out there that can help scheme up a situation where those players are not ridiculously exposed, welcome them aboard.
The Panthers are floundering for answers on both sides of the ball, and they finally fired Ejiro Evero as a result. The defense was far too often very underwhelming or downright bad during Evero’s tenure.
The Week 7 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which they ran for over 250 yards and scored 43 points, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. On a short week, though, the Panthers had to wait, and they fired him Friday morning after another loss to the Green Bay Packers.
More changes could be in store if the freefall continues, but the Panthers did need to bring someone on to help alleviate the losses they suffered last week. Bringing in Hall serves two purposes. It helps offset the loss of Cooley and it could potentially help the Panthers survive the onslaught of cornerback injuries.
Time will tell if it helps, and perhaps the vertically-challenged (at least in the passing game) Denver Broncos this week will give the new-look secondary a chance to get its feet wet without being totally overmatched.
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