Panthers Just Made Their 1st Big Mistake of the Offseason

There were certainly positives to take away from the Panthers' 2024 season. The team showed intriguing flashes and improvement, especially in the second half of the season, to make fans feel better about the future of the franchise.

Yet, most of that success came on the offensive side of the ball. Bryce Young looked better later in the season and the Panthers improved from the 31st-best offense in the league in 2023 to 23rd this season.

The defense, on the other hand, took a disappointing step back. Allowing an all-time worst 534 points for the season, the Panthers were the worst-ranked unit in the league both in terms of points and yards.

Many fans expected that this would signal the end of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero's time in Carolina. Instead, it looks like the Panthers are cleaning house among supporting coaches. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on Thursday that the Panthers are moving on from secondary coach Bert Watts, outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, and defensive quality control coach Bobby Maffei.

Panthers News: Carolina Moving On from Several Defensive Coaches

The Panthers made the surprising decision to retain Ejiro Evero earlier in the week. Considering that Evero preceded head coach Dave Canales, there was some expectation that Canales would bring in someone he is more familiar with after the defense collapsed this season.

Instead, Evero is seemingly going to be bringing in new faces to his staff. Watts and Lukabu were hired by Evero in 2023, and Maffei has been with the team since 2022. Whether the changes to the supporting coaches will be enough to turn things around in Carolina remains to be seen but this is certainly a big risk by Canales and Tepper to keep Evero as the man in charge of this defense.

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