Unlike their staff on offense, the Carolina Panthers didn’t need to touch their defensive coaches going into 2024. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have connections to a few intriguing free agents.
Here are 14 pending defensive free agents, in areas of need, who have ties to Carolina’s coaching staff:
Pass rushers
Josh Allen, K’Lavon Chaisson and Dawuane Smoot: Panthers defensive line coach Todd Wash spent seven seasons in Duval. Allen, Chaisson and Smoot all entered the league with Wash as their defensive coordinator.
Romeo Okwara: Wash then moved on to Detroit, where he coached the Okwara for two seasons. The Charlotte, N.C. native played in just nine games over that span.
Jonathan Greenard: Before he became a sack artist, Greenard spent a good chunk of his rookie season on special teams. He played 39.3 percent of the unit’s snaps under Panthers special teams coordinator Tracy Smith, who served in the same role for the Houston Texans in 2020.
Linebackers
Devin Bush Jr., Zach Cunningham and Tanner Muse: Cunningham got quite a bit of work on special teams with Smith in Houston from 2018 to 2020. Smith was also the assistant special teams coach in Seattle, where he worked with Muse in 2021 and 2022 and with Bush Jr. in 2023.
Josey Jewell: Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero got Jewell for a season in Denver. That season came in 2022, when he recorded career-highs in tackles (128) and interceptions (two).
Defensive back
Jordan Fuller and John Johnson III: Prior to leading the Broncos defense for one year, Evero served as the safeties coach, secondary coach and passing coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams between 2017 and 2021. He had Fuller for two seasons and Johnson for one.
Lonnie Johnson Jr.: This Johnson got some special teams work under Smith in 2019 and 2020.
Tre Herndon: Wash and Herndon worked together for three seasons in Jacksonville.
