Tag: jonathan cooley

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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Kevin O’Connell has an opening to bring in former Rams co-workers

O’Connell might try to bring in some of his former co-workers with the Rams to his staff

When the Minnesota Vikings hired head coach Kevin O’Connell, he brought along some of his former co-workers from the Los Angeles Rams. The two most notable ones were offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and special teams coordinator Matt Daniels.

He tried to bring over more coaches but he was blocked by his former boss Sean McVay. On Tuesday, it was announced that McVay would allow his assistants to pursue other opportunities without resistance, which means that the Rams will not block them from taking other opportunities.

This could mean a lot of things for the Vikings. With the struggles on defense, will defensive coordinator Ed Donatell retain his job? The Vikings did have Raheem Morris, the Rams current defensive coordinator, as a head coaching finalist. If the Vikings move on from Donatell, Morris could be a prime candidate to take his place.

The likely assistants that O’Connell will target are the lower level ones. One that he tried to interview to bring over with him was Rams defensive backs assistant Jonathan Cooley but the Rams blocked O’Connell from interviewing him for what would have been a lateral move.

Now with the restrictions lifted, this could be the path for O’Connell.

Report: Vikings interview with Jonathan Cooley blocked by Rams

Rams pump the brakes on Kevin O’Connell taking coaches.

The Los Angeles Rams are pumping the brakes on Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell bringing any more coaches with him on his newest venture.

Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic is reporting the Rams have blocked the Vikings from interviewing assistant defensive backs coach Jonathan Cooley for a position on their defensive staff.

O’Connell is already expected to be bringing Rams tight ends coach Wes Phillips, son of former longtime NFL coach Wade Phillips, to serve on his offensive staff.

So the Rams are apparently drawing the line when it comes to Cooley.

The team is losing several staff members following their Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals, including secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator Ejiro Evero. It makes sense why they’d want to hold on to a talented up-and-comer like Cooley.

O’Connell appears hell-bent on recreating the success he found with the Rams in Minnesota, even if he has to take a few coaches with him to do it.

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