Panthers Finally Replace Coach Who Was Fired Right After Season

Unlike previous years, the Carolina Panthers are having a relatively quiet offseason. They will largely be bringing back the same coaching staff except for several changes on the defensive side of the ball. Despite finishing the season with the worst defense in the league, the Panthers decided to retain defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Instead, they moved on from secondary coach Bert Watts, OLB coach Tem Lukabu, and quality control coach Bobby Maffei.

On Wednesday, they finally found a replacement for Lukabu. The Panthers insider Mike Kaye reported that the team was planning on hiring Rams assistant defensive line coach AC Carter as their new outside linebackers coach.

Panthers Hire Rams Assistant AC Carter as OLB Coach

Carter's first coaching experience in the NFL was with the Denver Broncos as a quality control coach when Evero was the defensive coordinator there. Before then, Carter spent five years coaching at the college level between Kansas, Hampton, and Eastern Illinois. Now, Carter is reuniting with Evero after two seasons with the Rams.

The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue pointed out on X that this is a big loss for the Rams. She credited Carter for playing a huge role in the development of the young standout defensive linemen in Los Angeles. Rodrigue added that Carter helped run meetings and helped design some top rush packages.

Considering that the Panthers were the worst pass-rushing and run-defending team in the NFL last season, per Pro Football Focus, Carter's experience working in LA with one of the best organizations in the league should come in handy.

Carolina obviously needed to make serious changes to its defensive staff and if Evero was staying, surrounding him with the best coaches possible is a smart decision. Hopefully the Panthers take a step forward on that end of the field to become a truly relevant and competitive team next season.

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