The Seattle Seahawks are reportedly in the second round of interviews as part of their ongoing head coaching search.
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Ejiro Evero, the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, is apparently meeting with top Seahawks brass for the second time. He is also reportedly interviewing for head coaching positions with Carolina and Atlanta.
While many are focused on the youthful offensive coordinators—Ben Johnson of Detroit and Bobby Slowik of Houston—Evero, 43, is a more experienced defensive coordinator who is being considered for three of the five head coaching positions that are still open.
What then should you know about Ejero? Anish Shroff, a radio host for the Panthers, joined Wyman and Bob on Seattle Sports to offer his personal perspective.
“Very spectacular just in person. “He has the aura and presence of a head coach when you meet with him and speak with him,” Shroff remarked. “He’s highly regarded in NFL circles.”
With two years of experience as a defensive coordinator, Ejero was quite similar in both roles.
Ejero was in Denver in 2022 when the Broncos had a terrible offence and finished 5-12. However, considering that Denver’s defence ranked ninth in yards allowed and fourteenth in points allowed, it was hardly the issue.
Ejero received the same treatment in 2023, this time with the Panthers. In terms of yards allowed, Carolina’s defence was fourth in the NFL, but their offence was the worst. In terms of points allowed, the Panthers were 29th, however Shroff claimed that the offence was largely to blame.
“It was an offensive catastrophe; there’s no denying it. The group had trouble scoring. And to their surprise, this defence helped them win a lot of these games,” he remarked. “In several games, the defence kept the opposition in the low-20s or the teens, and the offence would turn the ball over on a short field, leading to points being scored.”
According to Shroff, the flip side of some of Carolina’s strong defensive stats is that opponents were willing to play for field position and go cautious since they had no respect for the Panthers’ offence.
But Ejero achieved more with less, Shroff continued.
“On the other hand, there were numerous injuries, which is something Ejiro deserves praise for. With the exception of defensive lineman Derrick Brown, who had a fantastic season, most of these guys either regressed or moved in a neutral manner, the speaker stated. “And for the most of the season, it was bend but don’t break defence because of all the injuries and moving pieces and various components coming in. In many games, they held a poor team.
The Panthers players also evidently respect Ejero, according to Shroff.
“The players I spoke with think highly of them. They’re all in favour of Ejiro returning and keeping this group of defensive coaches together in order to restore the defence from the previous season. At times, he seemed to be able to get some pretty decent output out of what was essentially scrap metal talent, he said. He managed to hold that together somehow. And once more, they played a decent defence for the majority of the campaign. He has his scheme, if you were to ask me if he was a schemer. They have a 3-4 defence and a heavy powerful nickel game. However, I believe that the leadership element was felt in the changing room, and its real.
