The Denver Broncos clearly have the best defense in the NFL, but a former coach cannot say the same thing about his unit.
The Broncos have quickly turned this operation around and are now 11-7 over their last 18 regular season games dating back to last season. They've hit on a QB in the NFL Draft in Bo Nix and have brought in a high-end coaching staff to run the operation.
Well, some of their former coaches are scattered throughout the NFL, and one former, notable coach has had a disastrous tenure with his current team, and time might be running out.
Ejiro Evero has been a disastrous defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers
Disastrous might be putting it lightly, honestly. In Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ejiro Evero's unit was generating virtually zero pressure on a below-average offensive line:
The Jaguars’ OL started the 2025 season on the right foot 🛡️
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) September 10, 2025
Jacksonville had the lowest pressure rate allowed (12.5%) and tied-lowest sack rate allowed (0.0%) in Week 1 pic.twitter.com/I1B3q2aHzq
But it only gets worse. The Panthers have ranked 29th, 32nd, and now 24th in points allowed per game on defense. They ranked dead-last in yards allowed in 2024 and were dead-last in rushing yards allowed last year as well.
In 2024, the Panthers had the third-fewest sacks in the NFL with 32. Denver had nearly double with 63. It's odd, as when Evero was the defensive coordinator of the Broncos back in 2022, they had one of the better units in the NFL. The unit collapsed a bit down the stretch, but at the time, Evero was seen as an up-and-coming, encouraging coach.
His value has tanked in Carolina, as his defenses have been among the worst in the NFL, and you get the sense that it's only a matter of time before he is shown the door. Vance Joseph, on the other hand, has turned himself around and has emerged as a top-3 defensive coordinator in the NFL.
Denver's defense is trending to be the best in the NFL this year, and the one downside with all of this is that Joseph might end up leaving for a head coaching job in 2026. It's safe to say the Broncos' defense has been better off in recent years since Vance Joseph replaced Ejiro Evero.