Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is getting looks as a head coaching candidate from multiple teams, but his current employer wants to hold onto him.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that the Falcons have requested an interview with Evero. The Raiders also put in a request to speak to him on Sunday.
Evero finished his third season with the Panthers on Saturday and head coach Dave Canales said on Sunday that he “absolutely” wants Evero to remain on the staff in Carolina.
“I have complete trust in Ejiro,” Canales said, via the team’s website. “Love the way that he’s brought this group to play quality football together, and he’s got my full support. Love our scheme, love what we do there, and getting our guys to play together when we execute this scheme, it’s really difficult to play against, and the guys have found a way to play together, communicate together.”
Evero will be able to have a virtual interview with the Falcons, Raiders and any other interested teams this week. Any in-person interviews for coaches currently employed by other teams will not happen until after the divisional round of the playoffs.
Matt Ryan made a final appearance on CBS on Sunday and then pivoted back to his new job.
Ryan is now the president of football for the Falcons and the team is looking for a new head coach after firing Raheem Morris hours after their final game of the regular season. The Falcons announced on Sunday afternoon that they have completed a third interview with a candidate for the job.
Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is the latest addition to the group. Stefanski has also met with the Giants, Titans, Ravens, and Raiders since being fired by the Browns early last week.
The Falcons have also interviewed Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Starting this week, former Ravens coach John Harbaugh will attack the interview process with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. And with leverage the NFL hasn’t seen in decades.
Harbaugh has multiple options for his next stop. He’s being selective. And he could end up having even more choices, based on what happens in Green Bay and (if the Bills lose today) Buffalo.
He’s in position to request a very large salary. He’s in position to seek control over the roster. He’s in position to ask for the team to let him hire a General Manager, even if it means firing the one they currently have.
That doesn’t mean everyone would do it. But it only takes one who is sufficiently desperate to give Harbaugh what he wants. And if Harbaugh gives a little on one term, he could get more on another.
Harbaugh also has another potential play, one that we addressed on PFT Live after the Ravens moved on. He could take a year off and work in TV, like Sean Payton did four years ago. It would make Harbaugh the odds-on, A-list candidate throughout the next season, hovering over every hot seat as the next coach, if the current coach gets fired.
If Harbaugh decides to wait, the hot spots for 2027 would be (possibly) the Jets, the Bills (if they don’t make a change this year), the Bengals, the Colts, the Chiefs (if Andy Reid decides to retire), the Cowboys, the Commanders, the Buccaneers, the Panthers, and the Saints.
Either way, Harbaugh’s effort to explore his next coaching job starts soon. And he could decide to take a job now, or to take a job later.
As he begins his new job as the Falcons’ president of football operations, Matt Ryan made a stop at his old job on CBS to talk about his goals.
Ryan said on the CBS NFL pregame show that the Falcons have to get back to the playoffs, and his first task is finding a head coach and general manager who can get them there.
“That’s the vision for where we want to be: We want to be in the mix, in the playoffs. It’s been too long. We’re going to work really hard and find the right people to get us back in that position to be successful,” Ryan said. “Football is about the people.”
The last time the Falcons were in the playoffs was in 2017, when Ryan was still their quarterback. In addition to finding a coach and GM, Ryan and his staff need to find another quarterback who can lead them to the playoffs, a position they didn’t expect to find themselves in when they made big investments in Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix.
Ryan has a big job ahead of him.
Matt Ryan is moving from TV to the Falcons. Raheem Morris could be moving from the Falcons to TV.
Morris, who was fired on Sunday after two seasons as the head coach in Atlanta, may eventually shift to broadcasting.
Via Sean Keeley of AwfulAnnouncing.com, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media floated the possibility of Morris making a move to media on Saturday.
For now, Morris is on the radar screen of the Giants, Titans, and Cardinals, each of whom are looking for new head coaches.
Morris previously coached the Buccaneers from 2009 through 2011. He worked for more than a decade as an assistant before getting a second shot. Still only 49, Morris could take a break from coaching, or make a permanent break from the non-stop grind for an easier way to make a living — even if being a head coach generally pays better.
But, hey, someone needs to take Ryan’s spot at CBS. Why not Morris?
