Tag: jonathan cooley

Panthers coach draws very lofty comparison for CB Jaycee Horn

Panthers defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley compared Jaycee Horn to one of the NFL’s very best cornerbacks.

Carolina Panthers defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley knows a special cornerback when he sees one—and it’s safe to say that he sees one in Jaycee Horn.

Cooley spoke with reporters following Thursday’s practice, and was asked about the difference between having and not having Horn on the field.

“I think with Jaycee, you get the luxury of somebody they don’t wanna throw the ball at,” Cooley said. “And we’ve had a certain circumstance like that in L.A. with Jalen [Ramsey]. And then when they do throw the ball, he’s probably gonna make them pay.”

Before joining the Panthers in 2023, Cooley spent three years with the Los Angeles Rams—where he served as their defensive quality control coach, assistant secondary coach and defensive backs coach. He’d cross paths with Ramsey, who was a two-time First-team All-Pro member and two-time Pro Bowl selection while Cooley was on staff.

Obviously, there’s quite a ways to go for Horn to reach that kind of status. The 2021 eighth overall pick certainly has the talent, but he hasn’t had the availability—as he’s missed 29 of a possible 51 games in the NFL due to injury.

And that’s something Cooley and the Panthers hope to see a lot less of.

“Without him, it’s just a bunch of guys that get an opportunity to take advantage of their opps,” he added. “We’ve experienced that last year. And it’s just like, the guy that can make the most plays on the ball will play. But we definitely prefer to have him.”

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Panthers coaches talk about the importance of having Jaycee Horn at OTAs

Whether it’s at practice or during the regular season, having CB Jaycee Horn on the field is quite important for the Panthers.

Unfortunately for the Carolina Panthers, they haven’t had Jaycee Horn at their disposal much over his three-year NFL career. But they’re hoping Year No. 4 is different for the standout cornerback, who does make his presence known when he’s healthy.

Head coach Dave Canales spoke with reporters following today’s outing of team organized activities. He was asked about the importance of having Horn on the practice field.

“It’s been really great just to have him out there,” Canales said. “We’re being really smart about how we transition him in, especially during this phase. But when he’s out there—I think the cool part I didn’t know about Jaycee, which has been fun for me to see—is he’s vocal. And he loves to talk and he loves to kinda bring that edge and that energy.

“Defense makes a couple of good plays and Jaycee’s kinda lettin’ everybody know. And I think it’s just a really cool part of the personality of this team that I’m looking forward to. And Jaycee, he feels like he’s in a really good place.”

Jaycee hasn’t been in a really good place, at least health-wise, since entering the league. The 2021 eighth overall pick has dealt with numerous injuries and already missed 29 of a possible 51 games.

The 22 games he has played in, however, have shown how effective he can be—something defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley made note of on Tuesday.

“I think having Jaycee—like, a player like that—he affects a lot of people around him,” Cooley replied. “So it allows us to put more pressure on him, to take away one side of the field and it allows other guys to grow within a role that we can see express. You don’t have a lot of guys that are blessed with what he has in his body and if he’s available, he’s one of the best.”

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Panthers promoting Jonathan Cooley to defensive passing game coordinator

Per The Athletic, the Panthers have promoted secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley to defensive passing game coordinator.

Not only is Jonathan Cooley sticking around with the Carolina Panthers in 2024, but he’s also adding a new title to his résumé.

As first reported by Joe Person of The Athletic on Tuesday, the team has promoted Cooley to the defensive passing game coordinator position. He was hired by the Panthers as their secondary/cornerbacks coach last year.

Cooley came over after spending three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams—where he crossed paths with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. He began there as a defensive assistant and quality control coach in 2020, and was promoted to defensive backs coach for the 2022 season.

Prior to his jump to the NFL, the Columbus, Ohio native spent nearly a decade in the college ranks. He worked the sidelines for Millikin, Bluffton, his alma mater of John Carroll, Kentucky, Tennessee at Chattanooga, Kent State and Akron.

Despite their head-coaching change, Carolina retained Evero, Cooley and the rest of the defensive staff earlier this offseason.

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Panthers reportedly signing former Rams S Jordan Fuller

The Panthers are reportedly set to reunite Jordan Fuller with Ejiro Evero and Jonathan Cooley.

The Carolina Panthers just had themselves another successful free-agent visit.

As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the team is expected to sign former Los Angeles Rams safety Jordan Fuller. Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero added that the deal is a one-year agreement worth up to $5.25 million.

Fuller, who met with the Panthers on Friday, was selected by the Rams in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft. The Ohio State University product spent all four of his pro campaigns in Los Angeles—where he amassed 279 combined tackles, seven interceptions, four forced fumbles and 46 starts over 48 games.

It’d be out west where Fuller first crossed paths with current Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero—who served as Fuller’s position coach in 2020 and the secondary coach in 2021. He also worked with Carolina’s secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley, who was a defensive assistant, assistant secondary coach and defensive backs coach for the Rams from 2020 to 2022.

In addition to Fuller, the Panthers reportedly reached an agreement with outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson on Friday.

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Panthers retain 13 assistant coaches, including entire defensive staff

Panthers DC Ejiro Evero will have his entire staff back for 2024.

The Carolina Panthers did more than just roll out the hirings of six new faces on Thursday. They also announced the returns of 13 familiar ones.

In addition to their additions, the team is retaining 13 assistant coaches—headlined by defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Evero will be joined back by his entire defensive staff.

The group is as follows:

  • Dom Capers (defensive assistant)
  • Todd Wash (defensive line coach)
  • Bert Watts (secondary/safeties coach)
  • Jonathan Cooley (secondary/cornerbacks coach)
  • Peter Hansen (inside linebackers coach)
  • Tem Lukabu (outside linebackers coach)
  • DeAngelo Hall (assistant defensive backs coach)
  • Mayur Chaudhari (defensive assistant)
  • Bobby Maffei (defensive quality control coach)

Carolina will also keep a few offensive minds in senior assistant Jim Caldwell and offensive assistant Mike Bercovici. Game management coordinator George Li will be staying on as well.

Along with Evero, the organization previously announced the hirings of their two new coordinators in Brad Idzik and Tracy Smith—who will lead the offense and special teams, respectively.

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8 Panthers assistants named future head-coaching candidates

A total of eight Panthers assistants were named as future head-coaching candidates by SI’s Conor Orr.

Considering they remain winless through about a quarter of the season, it might be difficult for someone to sell the Carolina Panthers coaching staff at the moment. But not for Sports Illustrated senior writer Conor Orr.

Orr recently published his annual future head coaches index—an “exhaustive list” (Conor’s words, not ours) that accounts for names who will, may and/or should be considered for openings this offseason. Amongst the slew of those mentioned are eight current Panthers assistants—beginning with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

Evero, according to Orr, is considered a “lock” to nail down a new job in 2024. He writes:

“Ejiro is a star, man. A bona fide future head coach,” an NFC coach says. “Impressive” was the first word that came on another text about Evero, whose body of work last year as the defensive coordinator with the Broncos is worth a deep dive. Denver allowed 20 or fewer points in nine games last season, but the way in which he manipulated and transformed his personnel to attack opponents on a week-to-week basis was epic. Evero has an elite coaching apprenticeship résumé, having worked under Jim Harbaugh, Mike McCarthy, Sean McVay and now Frank Reich. His quiet confidence is a respect generator. Evero was among the most sought-after defensive coordinators on the market after a series of head coaching interviews last year with the Colts and Panthers, among other teams.

Despite Carolina’s 0-4 start, Evero has his unit working at a pretty admirable rate—even with injuries to key starters such as cornerback Jaycee Horn and linebacker Shaq Thompson. Heading into Week 4’s Monday nighter, the Panthers have allowed the 14th-fewest total yards per game (313.0), the sixth-fewest first downs (40) and have racked up a respectable 12 sacks.

Heck, they were even able to “hold” Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson down to 85 yards in Sunday’s loss. Granted, he scored two touchdowns and the run defense was quite leaky—but those 85 yards were a far cry from what the All-Pro pass catcher did in his first three weeks.

Evero is joined on the list by his following co-workers:

  • Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown
  • Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown
  • Assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley
  • Secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley
  • Assistant defensive backs coach DeAngelo Hall
  • Linebackers coach Peter Hansen
  • Outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu

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Panthers CB coach Jonathan Cooley names players he’s been impressed by so far

Who is Panthers secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley impressed by so far? He answered that question on Thursday.

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When it comes to concern regarding depth for the Carolina Panthers, much of the attention has been aimed towards the team’s receiving corp. But it’s the opposite part of the personnel that may be the bigger issue.

New secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley spoke with reporters following Thursday’s installment of organized team activities. When asked about the state of the cornerbacks room, Cooley just played it cool.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “We have veterans in there, we have young players that we’re very excited about. And then, just developing the backend depth—because corner is a position that is super important for us in the NFL, to exist how we wanna play on defense. So, just creating more versatility with those guys has been helpful. But I really like the guys we have in the room and I couldn’t be more excited about working with them.”

Outside of Jaycee Horn, the Panthers don’t have one sure thing at the position. Behind Horn at the top of the chart sits Donte Jackson, who is still recovering from an Achilles tear, as well as CJ Henderson and Keith Taylor Jr.—both of whom didn’t exactly shine when given the chance at the end of last season.

Nonetheless, Cooley seems encouraged by all four men at this point in the offseason.

“Most of them are relatively young,” he replied when asked of who’s impressed him most. “As far as the younger guys, Jaycee’s in his first contract. He’s done an excellent job for us. Keith Taylor’s done an excellent job with us—just getting better and better. D-Jax’s probably the older one and he’s been a great teammate. CJ Henderson’s done an excellent job in the role that he’s been able to play during this spring. So, we’re really excited about a lot of them.”

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Former Rams DBs coach Jonathan Cooley hired by Panthers

Jonathan Cooley has been hired as the Panthers’ new defensive backs coach after three years with the Rams

The Carolina Panthers announced on Wednesday that they’ve agreed to terms with former Los Angeles Rams defensive backs coach Jonathan Cooley. Just as he was in L.A., Cooley will be the Panthers’ defensive backs coach, as well as their cornerbacks coach.

Cooley was one of the several assistant coaches not retained by the Rams after this past season, ending his three-year tenure with the team. He started out as a defensive assistant/quality control coach in 2020 and was promoted to DBs coach in 2022.

Cooley reunites with Ejiro Evero, who he coached alongside in 2020 and 2021. Evero was hired as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator this year after spending last season with the Broncos.

The Rams have yet to replace Cooley as their defensive backs coach.

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Panthers officially hire Jonathan Cooley as new DB coach

The Panthers have officially announced the hiring of new defensive backs coach Jonathan Cooley.

Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has brought another one of his guys to the Queen City.

As officially announced by the team on Wednesday, Jonathan Cooley has been hired as the new defensive backs coach. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, formerly of The Charlotte Observer, was first with the news on Tuesday evening.

Cooley comes over after spending the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He began there as a defensive assistant and quality control coach in 2020, and was promoted to defensive backs coach prior to the start of last season.

Prior to his jump to the NFL, the Columbus, Ohio native spent nearly a decade in the college ranks. He worked the sidelines for Millikin, Bluffton, his alma mater of John Carroll, Kentucky, Tennessee at Chattanooga, Kent State and Akron.

Following his 2019 campaign at Akron, Cooley was selected by the NFL for  the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

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Panthers expected to hire Jonathan Cooley as DB coach

Per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, the Panthers plan to hire former Rams DB coach Jonathan Cooley.

The Carolina Panthers have had themselves a busy Tuesday.

First, they hired former Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell as a senior assistant. Then, they officially named Duce Staley to their staff—bringing on the former rusher as the team’s assistant head coach and running backs coach.

And now, they might be getting another one in before the clock strikes midnight.

As first reported by Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic and later confirmed by Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, the Panthers plan to hire Jonathan Cooley as their next defensive backs coach. Cooley has spent the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, where he crossed paths with Carolina’s new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

The former defensive back cracked the NFL sidelines with the Rams in 2020, after a nine-year run at the collegiate level. He began as a defensive assistant and quality control coach and was promoted to defensive backs coach in 2022.

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