Quote:Why did the Carolina Panthers extend defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero right after a historically bad 2024 campaign? President of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan explained why on Tuesday.

Morgan, while speaking to reporters during his end-of-season press conference this morning, was asked about the decision to stick with Evero after last year—when his defense allowed the most points in league history.

"If you look at EJ, if you're around him every day—you see the way he works, how smart he is," Morgan replied. "I believe in his defense, I believe in his philosophy. He's really good at developing players.

"Again, it's my job as well to put him with the right personnel. And again, it's a patience thing to where we're gonna attack those needs and we're gonna get better across the board. As you see us keep adding talent on our roster, players on our roster developing—I think you'll see that defense keep ascending."

Evero's unit, between Morgan's offseason additions and the staff's player development, certainly ascended. The group allowed 327.2 total yards (16th) and 22.4 points (15th) per game in 2025, a huge leap from the 404.5 yards (32nd) and 31.4 points (32nd) they gave up in 2024.

As hinted at by head coach Dave Canales on Sunday, and later reported by Joe Person of The Athletic, Evero's deal will now take him through the 2027 campaign.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers GM Dan Morgan explains DC Ejiro Evero's contract extension