Evero hired by Panthers as defensive coordinator

Ejiro Evero found out Denver would release him from his defensive coordinator contract on Saturday and had a new job by Sunday.

Evero, 42, was named the Carolina Panthers’ defensive coordinator Sunday afternoon. In Charlotte, he will work with Frank Reich, whom the Panthers recently hired to replace Matt Rhule and subsequent interim head coach Steve Wilks.

The Broncos wanted Evero to stay in Denver and work under new head coach Sean Payton, but when Evero ultimately decided he wanted a fresh start, they released him from his contract, sources told The Post.

Evero was close friends with former head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired Dec. 26, just 15 games into his tenure with the Broncos.

Evero interviewed for all five head coaching jobs that opened this hiring cycle and earned several second interviews along the way.

He had the comfort of knowing he’d be hotly pursued as soon as Denver let him out of his contract. ESPN reported recently that Minnesota was interested in interviewing him if the Broncos would allow it and he likely fielded interest from other teams with coordinator openings, as well.

As for the Broncos, Payton has two known requests out for defensive coordinator interviews: Pittsburgh linebackers coach Brian Flores and Seattle defensive assistant Sean Desai. He could face stiff competition for either of those men, too, in particular Flores, who appears to still be in the running for Arizona’s head coaching vacancy and is a known target of the Vikings in their coordinator search.

Payton could also turn to a familiar face and close friend — former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, though it’s unclear at this point whether the pair have talked about the job. According to Colorado coach Deion Sanders, Zimmer is going to join his staff after spending 2022 with him as an analyst at Jackson State.