Ejiro Evero's Firing Just Put More Pressure on Dave Canales

I wasn't surprised when the Panthers fired Ejiro Evero on Friday. I probably would've been more surprised if they kept him after what we've watched the last couple of weeks. My first thought when I saw it wasn't really about Evero though. It was about Dave Canales.

Evero is gone now. Jonathan Cooley is gone too. Todd Wash gets the defense, and we'll find out soon enough if any of that makes a difference. I went back and forth on Evero for a while this season, but after the last two games I understood why Carolina finally did it.

I Keep Coming Back to the Offense

Oct 29, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker (18) makes a catch against the Green Bay Packers in the second half at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay game was probably where I had enough. I watched the Buccaneers come into Charlotte and score 43 points, then Green Bay put up another 30 four days later. It's hard to defend a defensive coordinator after giving up 73 points in five days.

Here's the thing I kept thinking about after Evero was fired. Carolina scored 13 against Tampa Bay and 19 against Green Bay. I actually went back and added it up because it didn't seem like they had scored that much. Thirty-two points in two games isn't exactly helping anybody.

I've had questions about the offense for a while anyway. Some weeks I like what Carolina is doing and then the next week I'm wondering where it went. I've wondered why Chuba Hubbard wasn't getting the ball more, and there have been play calls where I've just sat there trying to figure out what Canales saw that I didn't.

That's the stuff I'm watching now. Evero can't take the blame for any of it.

I'm Curious What This Looks Like With Wash

Oct 29, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive line coach Todd Wash during warm up at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

I had forgotten Evero was already in Carolina when Canales got the job until I started thinking about all of this. Canales kept him, which made sense to me at the time. Evero was getting head-coaching interviews and there were years when I wondered why somebody hadn't hired him yet.

Funny how quickly that changed.

Now Wash gets his shot. I don't know if he's going to make the defense any better, and I'm definitely not expecting everything to suddenly look different because one coach is gone. I mostly want to see if there are things I notice right away.

I'm going to be doing the same thing with the offense. Canales came to Carolina with an offensive background, and that's the side of the ball where I expected him to make the biggest difference. Lately I haven't seen enough of it.

I'm Not Calling for Canales' Job

I'm not there. I don't think that's where this conversation needs to go seven games into the season.

But I do think Friday changed things for him. One of his coordinators is already gone, Carolina has lost two straight and the Panthers are sitting at 3-4. Canales has a few extra days now to look at all of it.

I'm curious what he changes.

Not just on defense.

His offense too.

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