Colts Head Coach Candidate in High Demand Elsewhere
It was reported on Saturday that the Carolina Panthers have requested an interview with Ejiro Evero, the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator.
This request is for the defensive coordinator position for Carolina, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, while the Minnesota Vikings have also requested to bring in Evero to interview for their open position.
"The #Panthers requested an interview with #Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero for their DC job, per source," Pelissero tweeted. "Carolina previously interviewed Evero for their head coaching job and he impressed. The #Vikings want to interview him for DC, too."
Along with the Indianapolis Colts, the Panthers had also brought in Evero for a head coaching interview before eventually choosing former Colts head coach Frank Reich to lead the team. However, if this were to happen for either the Panthers or Vikings they would be acquiring a young defensive mind that has a total of 15 years of NFL coaching experience and is a mere 42 years old.
He also showcased a solid defense during a horrible 5-12 season for the Broncos (mostly under now former head coach and current New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett), finishing tied for 10th in the league in points allowed per game with 21.1 and also in rushing yards allowed per with 109.8, so it's easy to see why a young coach like Evero is starting to get offers for head coach and coordinator positions.
It was clear that the Colts were impressed with Evero. This was made evident with their request for a second interview, putting him in the running with seven other candidates that also had second interviews or requests. The list is as follows:
- Green Bay Packers STC Rich Bissacia
- Cincinnati Bengals OC Brian Callahan
- Detroit Lions DC Aaron Glenn
- New York Giants DC Wink Martindale
- Los Angeles Rams DC Raheem Morris
- Colts IHC Jeff Saturday
- Philadelphia Eagles OC Shane Steichen
With the coaching search potentially heading into round three for Indianapolis, is it starting to show that they may be taking too long?
Evero was a good enough candidate to warrant a second interview, and now with multiple teams showing interest in bringing him in, will Indianapolis start to ramp up their decision? With a chance this could go past the Super Bowl, it might not be soon.
