Years of NFL grind position Ejiro Evero for a potential head coaching leap with Pittsburgh. His defensive mind is already turning heads.
Ejiro Evero has spent a long time as an assistant coach in the NFL, and there is a chance the Pittsburgh Steelers could give him the opportunity to be a first-time head coach.
The Steelers have asked for permission to interview Evero as they are looking for a replacement for Mike Tomlin, who resigned last week after 19 seasons.
The Steelers have either interviewed or are set to interview seven candidates: Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and former Packers and Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is also expected to receive an interview.
Evero just completed his third season with the Panthers, who had an 8-10 record but reached the playoffs, where they lost to the Rams in an NFL Wild Card game. The Panthers were 15th in the NFL in scoring defense and 16th in total defense after finishing last among the league’s 32 teams in both categories in 2024. In Evero’s first season in 2023, the Panthers were fourth in points allowed but 29th in total yards allowed.
The Las Vegas Raiders are also interested in Evero for their head coach job and plan to give him a second interview.
Evero, 45, has been an NFL assistant for 18 seasons, beginning in 2007 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also had stints with the 49ers, Packers, and Rams, then spent 2022 as the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator before joining the Panthers.
Evero is a proponent of the 3-4 defense. That would provide continuity to the Steelers, who have used that alignment since 1982.
Evero played collegiately at UC-Davis, an FCS program, where he was a safety from 2000-03. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Davis High School after graduation, then returned to his alma mater as an assistant in 2005-06.
Evero joined the NFL in 2007 and has spent every season in the league since, except for 2011, when he was the special teams coach at the University of Redlands (Calif.), a Division III school.
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