CHARLOTTE — Panthers head coach Dave Canales has long talked about his belief in former defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero's system.

But he said Friday the "urgency" of being 3-4 with 10 games remaining, and the talent he sees here, contributed to the move to replace Evero and passing game coordinator Jonathon Cooley.

He said Friday he came to the decision over time, and after discussions with general manager Dan Morgan, executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis, and owner David Tepper, but ultimately it was his decision over the past few weeks.

"Just collecting a lot of information over the course of our time that really led to the decision," Canales said Friday afternoon. "And ultimately, when I look at how many games we have in front of us, the position we're at in the division, and really just wanted to get the most out of our guys and, and really making that decision, I take that responsibility very seriously as the head coach. I know it's my responsibility to put the players in a position where they feel confident, where they feel ready to go. And so I just took in a lot of information and came to this conclusion at this point right now, to be able to lay the groundwork for the style of football that we want to play...

"Ultimately, this is my decision. This falls squarely under the responsibilities of the head coach. And so, as I was evaluating it and looking for what was best for the 2026 Carolina Panthers, this was a decision that we discussed and weighed in all the factors, the timing of it, the position of our group, all of those things, to make the best decision going forward. But ultimately it had to come from me, and it had to come from something that I believe in and that I want for our players."

The Panthers had extended Evero's contract by a year after the 2024 season, when they were without many key players including Derrick Brown, and set a league record for points allowed in a season. But with changes and a number of injuries this year, they weren't able to get to a point he felt comfortable continuing with.

So this weekend, he'll hole up with the rest of the staff, including interim coordinator Todd Wash, to develop a plan for the rest of the season. With a mini-bye weekend to prepare before next Sunday's home game against Denver, those days will be spent adjusting.

"The urgency really just comes from myself, our staff, our expectations for our players, across the board," Canales said. "And so, nothing is more urgent than today. Nothing is more urgent than the Denver Broncos game coming up this week. And so, if we can keep that mentality, we keep the focus right in front of us, that allows us to just work on things that we can control, things that we can affect, and finding solutions for those things, and that's a good enough amount of pressure to put. Because I understand the difficulty and challenge of what it is in this league. We have to be excellent at what we're doing in our process, in our preparation, and how we show up for game day."

Players were off Friday after arriving back home in the early morning hours following the game in Green Bay, and Canales said he sent a message to the entire team and then has connected with key players and members of the leadership council.

Now, he'll work with a staff that could still see some additions, to try to find solutions. He said outside linebackers coach AC Carter will work more with the line (which is his background), and Renaldo Hill will continue to work with the secondary. Canales also didn't rule out additions in the coming weeks, saying that was something they were discussing already.

Wash is a known commodity for Canales, as they worked together with the Seahawks in the early 2010s. Wash then followed Gus Bradley to Jacksonville to coach defensive line, and eventually became defensive coordinator there for five years. During that time, he led the Jaguars to three top-10 rankings in total defense, and helped them to the 2017 AFC Championship Game.

Wash joined the Panthers staff in 2023, but was one of the coaches Canales retained when he took the job the following year. That's partially because he's always gotten production out of elite players, whether it was Jalen Ramsey or Aidan Hutchinson in Detroit or Brown (who set a league record for tackles by a defensive lineman in 2023), but also because of his hands-on and immersive style.

"Experience, understanding of front play, run game mechanics, how that's all tied in," he began when asked why he chose Wash to call plays now. "And then from just an observation, I've known him for a long time. We go back to our days in Seattle, but even here, his connection with the players- he knows these guys, he knows their stories, he's connected to their lives. He pushes them hard and trains them hard, and I feel like he does a great job. I believe he does a great job of earning the right to be able to push guys because of the emotional equity that he pours into his groups. And so I appreciate that, and I'm excited about what happens with the whole group as they get connected and play together. So, a lot of those things.

"And then just from a scheme standpoint, just there's variety. There's, there's all this stuff that we've learned in the last couple of years playing this system, and there's all these other things that, just a breadth of experience that Wash can bring into being able to troubleshoot, to find solutions, and ultimately that's what this is about. It's finding solutions, working together and improving and putting our players in a great position to play fast and to accentuate their strengths."

That's the challenge moving forward. Canales emphasized shoring up the run defense in particular, and the Panthers have talent in the front seven from Brown to Tershawn Wharton to rookie Lee Hunter, along with a talented linebacker group including edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and inside linebackers Devin Lloyd and Bobby Okereke.

There will certainly be adjustments to what they're doing, but the emphasis remains the same for them.

"I need these guys," Canales said of his staff. "And this is, as you can imagine, a very emotional, very hard day for all of us, and we need to rally together, and we have a staff that is very capable. We have a staff that's committed to doing things the right way, and I want them to feel that confidence in me. They're here so that we can take the next step together, as a group, and find solutions, and there's a lot of urgency around this, and that's where we need to be.

"It's about this week, it's about right now, and as we build this thing, it's gonna take that whole crew, and it's a group of guys that I really trust and that I'm counting on."