Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is focused on finishing out the remainder of the season in his current role, but has eyed the potential of being a head coach in the National Football League.
Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero eyeing potential role as head coach
When talking to various Broncos players about the leadership style of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, the words ‘transformational’, ‘collaborative’, and ‘player’s coach’ are commonly vocalized. Every time Evero takes to the podium for his weekly media availability, his calm demeanor, and open approach are easily noticeable.
The Broncos’ first-year defensive coordinator has been a pivotal part of their success as a unit this season, maximizing personnel that former head coach Vic Fangio had and making them even better, more aggressive, and more united.
Despite their record as a team, the Broncos defense has been one of the league’s best this season with top 10 rankings in net yards allowed per game (7th), yards per play (5th), points per game (10th), interceptions (6th), third down percentage (2nd), and red zone efficiency (4th) in the NFL.
As Denver prepares to take on Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, they’ll face the challenge of taking on an elite quarterback with talented wide receivers like Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. On top of that, they’ll have to try and contain Austin Ekeler on the ground and out of the backfield.
Second-year cornerback Patrick Surtain, who was voted the Demaryius Thomas Team MVP award by local media, has been a focal part of Evero’s defense this season. Denver’s defensive coordinator has been impressed by him from the moment he took over as the defensive signal caller.
“He’s a very consistent person, very consistent player,” Evero said on Thursday about Surtain. “You get the same high-level effort, high-level focus, and concentration every day from him. He’s a great guy. He’s a great guy to talk to, great guy to hang out with, obviously a talented player who does everything the right way.”
Various Denver Broncos players feel Evero would make a great head coach
After the Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett just 15 games into his first season as head coach, they’ll soon begin the process of hiring yet another one this offseason. Despite keeping his focus on serving Denver’s final game of the season as the team’s defensive coordinator, Evero acknowledged that he has his eyes set on a potential role to be a head coach whether that be in Denver or somewhere else.
“I am 100% invested into finishing this year off and then taking those things as they come,” Evero said on Thursday regarding becoming a potential head coach. “I do want to be a head coach, but the timing is not in my control. I’ll just do what my job is right now which is being a defensive coordinator.”
When asked whether or not he feels ready for the process of becoming a head coach if it presents itself, Evero acknowledged that he is as ready as he could be.
“Yeah. As ready as you could be,’’ Evero said. “I don’t know if anybody is ever ready to be a head coach in the NFL. Got to figure it out. Same as being a DC. I don’t know if you’re ever ready till you do it. That’s just the honest truth.”
Mile High Sports spoke with inside linebacker Josey Jewell about what qualities Evero has that would make him a great head coach.
“There’s a lot of them,” Jewell told Mile High Sports. “He’s a great leader. You’ve seen the defense, it’s a reflection of him. Communication is unbelievable through him. There’s no disguise, there’s no hidden thing, he’s going to let you know how he feels. He’s going to let you know how to play certain things. There are no questions left at the end of the day which is the biggest thing. Whether it be going out there on defense for a game or during practice, we know exactly what we’re doing. I just say that transparency of him being fully there and never holding anything back is very important. And as you saw, he brings us all together.”
Beyond the X’s and O’s, Jewell describes Evero as phenomenal and somebody who cares about them both on and off the field.
“Oh, phenomenal,” Jewell said when asked about how Evero is beyond the X’s and O’s of football. “He knows us all personally, especially on the defense, he knows about our families, knows us to the core. Instead of superficial football stuff, he knows everybody in that room. That means a lot to be able to connect players beyond just football. It makes them want to play for you that much more. That’s another thing I think why people love him so much and want to play for him so hard is because he’s connected and 100% in.”
As various teams currently have head coaching vacancies that need to be filled, Evero is expected to receive interviews in this current cycle. Denver Broncos general manager George Paton expressed last week during his press conference alongside Greg Penner that they hope to interview Evero for their current vacancy.
