The Carolina Panthers fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and pass-game coordinator Jonathan Cooley after their Thursday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers. The scapegoating has begun, the clearest sign yet that team owner David Tepper is getting restless.
Tepper has been largely on the fringes since the new regime of general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales took charge. His previous meddling days were seemingly over, and there was trust in the process.
For a while, things were going well. The Panthers made gradual progress, and they reached the playoffs last season after winning the NFC South with an 8-9 record.
Ejiro Evero firing shows pressure is building within the Carolina Panthers
Morgan thought they were close. They were aggressive over the offseason, spending lavish sums in their supposed shift to win-now mode. But a constant stream of injuries to key personnel and cracks in on-field execution have seen the Panthers fall far short of expectations.
And as all Panthers fans know, Tepper won't sit on his hands for long.
Evero was not hired by Canales. He secretly extended him after the Panthers put together a historically bad campaign, but he wasn't exactly emotionally attached to the play-caller.
Tepper may have needed a sacrificial lamb after the team's tough start. Given Canales' close connection to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, there was only one choice in this scenario.
And make no mistake; the head coach might be next if results don't improve.
The honeymoon period has worn off for Canales. Fans are starting to question his judgment and his handling of in-game situations. His happy-go-lucky approach is also starting to irk sections of the fan base.
David Tepper was expecting big things, and the Carolina Panthers aren't delivering
This is Year 3, and the Panthers are stuck in the same inconsistent cycle. Considering the money that's been spent across the roster, it's unacceptable.
The timing does seem off, but the Panthers only had a short week after their Tampa Bay Buccaneers' disaster before taking on the Packers. But now, with a 10-day break before taking on the Denver Broncos, a change has been implemented.
This won't happen without Tepper's final approval.
Whether he instigated the move is debatable, but given his track record, it can't be dismissed entirely.
Evero is well regarded in league circles. He was runner-up in the Las Vegas Raiders' head-coaching job before they eventually went with an offensive mind in Klint Kubiak. He'll probably get work again quickly, but his time in Carolina fell flat.
The heat is on. There is no doubt about that, and Tepper is watching events unfold closely.
Injuries are a legitimate excuse, but it doesn't wash for long. The defense was supposed to be better, and overall it wasn't. But this group is just a small part of what's going wrong, and this project has now stalled with no salary-cap space and little to show for it.
Tepper demands results. He's been patient so far, but that is clearly wearing thin.
And if the positive results don't arrive from here, who knows what'll happen.
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