The Carolina Panthers finished up the 2024 season on Sunday with a surprising overtime win on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were expected to win this one as they were playing a the division crown and a playoff spot, but another strong performance from Panthers quarterback Bryce Young led to a 44-38 Carolina win. The Panthers are now heading into the offseason after going 5-12 this year, and it will be interesting to see what head coach Dave Canales does with his staff.
One staff member that a lot of Panthers fans are wondering about is defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Carolina finished the regular season ranked dead last in total defense, but Dave Canales said that Evero will be back next year.
“Ejiro [Evero] will be back with us as our defensive coordinator,” Canales said, according to a post from Joe Person. “We have a lot of things to evaluate, you know, over the next couple of days, and then you know, certainly into the off season, to reflect on our schemes, to reflect on personnel, to reflect on the guys we have here going forward, and so, you know, there's a lot of really important conversations about all those factors. That'll be great to have.”
After the rough season that this Panthers defense had, there were definitely some people expecting the team to move on from Ejiro Evero in hopes of finding a coordinator that could get better results from the unit. Now we know that will not be the case.
This season was another disappointing one for Carolina, but there were some positives to look at in the final weeks of the season. Former first overall draft pick Bryce Young is finally starting to click within this offense and he will definitely be bringing some momentum into the 2025 season. He is starting to look like a player that the team can build around.
The Panthers defense will definitely need some work next year as last in the league is not going to cut it no matter how good Bryce Young is. Dave Canales clearly has confidence in Evero. It will be interesting to see what changes are made during the offseason.