One of the wildest NFL coaching cycles is now wrapped up now that all 10 teams with head coach vacancies have hired their new leader going into the 2026 season. For sickos out there, now becomes the fun part of tracking coordinator moves and hires.

But, for the Carolina Panthers, this was actually a relatively quiet coaching cycle for once. The Panthers believe they have their guy in head coach Dave Canales, who’s set to bring back both coordinators for the 2026 season. But, one coordinator almost got poached.

Carolina Panthers avoid losing DC Ejiro Evero with Las Vegas Raiders set to hire Klint Kubiak

On Sunday, it was reported that the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to hire Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak for their head coach opening following Super Bowl LX. The other prime candidate in consideration for the Raiders job was Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

Evero had two interviews with the Raiders and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Evero was considered the No. 2 in the equation behind Kubiak. Instead, the Raiders went with the rising offensive-minded candidate to pair with expected No. 1 overall pick QB Fernando Mendoza.

The Raiders front office has begun notifying the rest of the field that they have been eliminated as the team has made its decision on a head coach. Carolina DC Ejiro Evero was considered the No. 2 in the equation behind Klint Kubiak.

Team was pretty zeroed in on going offense

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 1, 2026

With the Raiders making this announcement all but official, Canales can finally have peace of mind that his right-hand man and defensive leader will be back in the fold for 2026, which will be Evero’s fourth season with the Panthers.

Panthers have full trust in Ejiro Evero going into 2026 season

During the past three seasons, Evero’s defense has had it’s fair share of struggles, mainly during the 2024 season when the unit ranked dead last in scoring and total yards while setting franchise-worst numbers in the process. Evero managed to come back and right the ship during the 2025 season with the unit ranking 15th in scoring and 16th in total yards.

“I have complete trust in Ejiro,” Canales said. “Love the way he’s brought this group to play quality football together. He’s got my full support. Love our scheme, love what we do there. You know, getting our guys to play together when we execute this scheme, it’s really difficult to play against, and the guys have found a way to play together [and] communicate together.”

After the season ended, the Panthers announced that Evero actually had his contract with the team extended following that disastrous 2024 season. It goes to show this organization believes in him and will do what it takes to help him build a top-caliber defense.

“We think highly of EJ,” general manager Dan Morgan said. “EJ has a really great football mind. We love his defense. It’s a really aggressive defense. I think as we continue to add players to the defense, I think that you’ll see this defense kind of come together. We made a lot of improvements on the defensive side of the ball this year, and we’ll continue to get better and add pieces. We’re up for that challenge.”

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