CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Undrafted rookie receiver had Kobe Hudson barely hauled in a touchdown pass from Andy Dalton Wednesday when a deep voice blasted through humidity so thick that the Carolina Panthers' practice fields felt like a giant sauna.
"Do your ... job,'' defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero bellowed.
It's one of many slogans that became a part of Evero's DNA during his five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, including 2021 when he won a Super Bowl ring as the defensive passing game coordinator.
It's something he has tried to engrain in the Panthers since he was hired in 2023 by then-coach Frank Reich after a year as the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos.
It's been a slow, often embarrassing, process for a coach many around the league consider on the fast-track to becoming a head coach. Last year's defense was the worst in NFL history in terms of points (534) and yards (6,877) allowed.
But there's a feeling among the Panthers that this year could be different, in part because of the Rams influence Evero has surrounded himself.
Defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson, inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom, nose tackle Bobby Brown III and safety Nick Scott are all expected to play prominent roles in Evero's 3-4 scheme. Each of them played on that Super Bowl LVI champion team, giving Carolina only two fewer Rams from that squad than the current Los Angeles team has. Robinson and Scott were with the Panthers last season, while Rozeboom and Brown came over from the Rams during the offseason.
The coaching staff also has a strong Rams influence. Beyond Evero (2017-20), there is outside linebackers coach AC Carter ('23-24) and passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley ('20-22).
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula believes the influence head coach Sean McVay had on them will help rebuild the Carolina defense the way it did in Los Angeles.
"It's just bringing that winning attitude and winning habits every day,'' Shula told ESPN. "Sean says model the way, where we try to show, 'Hey, this is the way to watch tape, to go through the day, to create winning habits, and you just keep stacking.
"There's not really anything specific that you can do besides just try to get better and improve every single day. ... I know those guys will do a great job and I know those guys will bring a lot.''
Robinson said he's starting to see in training camp what enabled the Rams to grow from an average defense in 2019 to first in the league in points allowed in 2020 to Super Bowl champs the next season.
"Everyone was willing to work,'' he said. "Everyone was willing to do everything they need to do to achieve what we need to achieve.''
It's a mentality he believes Carolina players are buying into.
"It's something you have to work for, you have to embody, you have to embrace,'' Robinson said. "It all starts with the mind, what you're willing to embrace and endure and go through and push yourself.''
A'Shawn Robinson talks about how the #Rams' influence - four former players and three coaches - on the #Panthers defense can help improve the worst unit in the NFL last season. pic.twitter.com/ksipp38GjX
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) July 31, 2025
Ten-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Aaron Donald embodied that mentality for the Rams from 2014 to 2023, when he retired. As Carter, a former Rams assistant defensive line coach once said, Donald "left with an engrained work ethic and spirit in our room that we're going to do things a certain way.''
That included everything from film study to body maintenance. He set what Rams players learned to be "the standard.''
"Honestly, the mentality we got from LA was play hard, never quit,'' said Brown, signed to a three-year, $21 million deal by Carolina during the offseason. "The game is never out of hand.''
Panthers coach Dave Canales said the former Rams players bring communication that was missing last season when injuries led to constant turnover and confusion on a defense that ranked last in the NFL in stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback.
"Communication is the recipe for growth, for becoming something,'' Canales said. "There are all these little issues within each call that guys have to be able to figure out on the fly. When you have guys that have been in a system [that works], it really helps the whole group.''
It's not just in games. It's in the classroom, on the practice field, in the weight room and film room.
"It's those minor adjustments that really allow a group to play together,'' Canales said. "And so those are the things that we're relying on.''
Brown called it a brotherhood, "the intentionality and just striving for greatness.''
"Man, we all want to be great,'' he said. "So we push ourselves, dead tired, we push everybody else. We coach everybody even though realistically it's a competition. But it's a brotherhood.''
Scott added another part.
"There's a chemistry between the coaches and players, a lot of trust,'' he said. "It's very apparent. It's just nice to have guys on the field that you played with and had experience within this defense. It can help solidify this group.''
There's also shared admiration for Evero.
"I imagine everybody feels like we let Coach E down a little bit last year, because he's a tremendous coach,'' Scott said. "He knows defense inside and out. He's an excellent leader.
"And now he's got more players that can help him get this defense where he wants it to be.''
Rozeboom signed a one-year deal with Carolina in the offseason initially to add depth. He was thrust into the starting lineup at the start of camp when Josey Jewell was released because of a concussion suffered last season.
He agreed the culture the former Rams players brought to Carolina, beginning with what they learned playing with Donald, is important.
"He was just a different breed,'' he said of Donald. "You can't help but push yourself when you're playing with a guy like that. We had a lot of good people there who were willing to fight, build that culture together.
"That's what I see here, too. Whatever was in the past wasn't good enough, so I can't wait to move forward to see what the 2025 Panthers can be.''
ESPN Rams reporter Sarah Barshop contributed to this story.