Panthers retain Ejiro Evero to lead defense, name offensive and special teams coordinators

The most crucial parts of the Dave Canales coaching staff have been made official.

On Thursday, the Carolina Panthers announced who will be their three coordinators on the team’s staff. Ejiro Evero will be retained as the team’s defensive coordinator, and the team has agreed to terms with Brad Idzik to be the offensive coordinator and with Tracy Smith to be the special teams coordinator.

All three coaches have made impressions on Canales — whether that be because a working relationship or via playing against each other.

Brad Idzik, Panthers offensive coordinator

Idzik, 32, was a top candidate almost immediately after the announcement of Canales’ hire. The Panthers requested to interview Idzik a day after Canales was named head coach.

The two have been intertwined the past few years: Idzik was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ wide receivers coach under Canales last season, and he was also in Seattle as a lower level assistant with Canales from 2019 to 2022 — which followed a coaching stint at Stanford and a playing career as a wide receiver at Wake Forest.

He is replacing Thomas Brown.

Ejiro Evero, Panthers defensive coordinator

On defense, Evero, 43, will continue calling plays and will keep his stout 3-4 defense in Carolina. The Observer reported on Monday that the Panthers were operating as if Evero would return in 2024, but his retainment wasn’t made official by the team until Thursday.

Evero was in the mix on three head coaching interviews, including with the Seattle Seahawks, the Atlanta Falcons and the Panthers. He was blocked by Carolina’s ownership when teams requested to interview him for their defensive coordinator positions, a show of a desire to keep Evero early on.

Canales then made it clear he wanted Evero to return in his introductory press conference.

“This is really important for me, especially as a first-time head coach who’s like, I’m here to make sure we get our football right,” Canales said. “(It’s important) especially on the offensive side, that we have that continuity with the players, and with EJ, just being able to have the mentality that I saw that was really challenging to play against.”

When asked to clarify if he expects Evero back, Canales responded: “Yes, this is, for me, a huge piece of what we’re doing.”

Tracy Smith, Panthers special teams coordinator

Smith was the Seahawks’ assistant special teams coach in 2023, his third year with the Seattle franchise, where he crossed over with Canales for a bit. Before that, he spent three years with the Texans.

The Seahawks are regularly among the top special teams units in the league. Smith’s arrival comes after the unit spent two years under the tutelage of Chris Tabor, the team’s interim head coach last year who wasn’t retained this offseason.