Carolina Panthers announce several coaching staff additions ahead of 2025 offseason
The second year of the Dave Canales era will officially feature several new faces on the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff.
On Thursday, the Panthers announced the additions to the staff ahead of next week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. The headliners of the group include new outside linebackers coach A.C. Carter and new secondary coach Renaldo Hill.
The team also announced the hiring of new VP of Player Health & Performance, Denny Kellington.
Below are the new staff members:
Panthers coaching staff new arrivals
A.C. Carter, OLB coach: Carter spent the past two seasons working with the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive line. He was part of the coaching duo that helped develop rookie standouts Jared Verse and Braden Fiske this season in LA.
Before joining the Rams, Carter worked under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero as a defensive quality control coach with the Denver Broncos. Prior to joining the Broncos, Carter worked in the college game, spending five seasons with various programs, including Kansas and Eastern Illinois.
A coaching source who previously worked with Carter in the NFL told The Observer that Carter is a “dynamic” coach.
“He is all around a high-energy and smart guy, so he will fit for sure anywhere upfront,” the source said. “Remember, in (Evero’s) system, the outside guys (are) pretty much same as (defensive line).”
Carter replaces former outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, who was let go in January. Lukabu has since resurfaced as a linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Renaldo Hill, secondary coach: Hill comes to Carolina with a wealth of experience on the field and the sideline. He had a 10-year career as a player, producing 19 interceptions, 61 pass breakups and five forced fumbles with four different teams. Hill transitioned to coaching in 2012 and has worked in both college and the NFL as a teacher.
Hill spent two years coaching at Wyoming and three years coaching at Pittsburgh before heading back to the NFL in 2018. He rose from an assistant defensive backs coach with the Miami Dolphins to the defensive backs coach with the Broncos to the defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers in just four seasons. After two seasons as a coordinator with the Chargers, he took a job with the Dolphins as a defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator in 2022. He spent last season out of the league.
Hill, 46, effectively replaces former safeties coach Bert Watts, who was let go in January.
Keyshawn Colmon, offensive assistant coach: Colmon, 24, is a fresh face to the NFL coaching scene, as he has quickly risen up the ranks to get to the Panthers. Colmon graduated from John Carroll University — a noted NFL coaching factory — in 2021 after a four-year career as a wide receiver for the program.
Colmon served as a graduate assistant with the University of Dayton in 2022 before moving to a similar role at Fresno State University in 2023. He spent last season working as a wide receivers coach for Sacramento State University.
Kevin Peterson, defensive assistant coach: Similar to Hill, Peterson is a former NFL defensive back. Peterson played under Evero with the Rams during the former’s three-year stint in Los Angeles. Peterson played six seasons in the NFL, splitting his tenure between the Rams and the Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2021.
Peterson, 30, spent last year coaching cornerbacks at Colorado State University Pueblo. Peterson previously had coaching fellowship stints with both the Rams and the Cardinals.
Peterson is likely to fill the void left by former assistant DBs coach DeAngelo Hall, who parted ways with the team last month.
New performance and health staff leadership for the Panthers
Denny Kellington, VP of Player Health & Performance: Kellington worked with GM Dan Morgan during their respective tenures in Buffalo. Kellington had been part of the Bills’ athletic training staff since 2017, rising from an assistant athletic trainer to associated head athletic trainer during his time in Buffalo.
He was credited as being a “hero” in helping save Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s life after the defensive back suffered cardiac arrest in the middle of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. Kellington provided CPR, among other procedures, to help revive Hamlin on the field.
Kellington replaces former head athletic trainer Kevin King and former director of health, performance and innovation Andrew Althoff.
Josh Hingst, Director of Performance: Hingst spent the past four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as the team’s director of player performance. Before his tenure with the Vikings, he spent eight seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles as a strength and conditioning coach. He began his NFL career with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an assistant strength coach in 2011 before moving to the Eagles in 2013. Hingst is a University of Nebraska alum, who spent the early days of his coaching career with the program.
Promotions on staff
The Panthers have promoted offensive assistant Mike Bercovici to assistant quarterbacks coach/pass game specialist. Bercovici has been with the team since 2023 and was a holdover from the Frank Reich era. Defensive assistant Mayur Chaudhari similarly arrived in 2023, and he has been promoted to assistant linebackers coach.
More departures from the Carolina staff
In addition to the new hires, as The Observer previously reported, assistant offensive line coach Keli’i Kekuewa accepted an unspecified role with the Jaguars this week. Former offensive passing game coordinator Nate Carroll recently joined his father, Pete, in Las Vegas on the elder Carroll’s staff as an assistant QB coach.
Kekuewa and Carroll join Watts, Hall, Lukabu, and former defensive quality control coach Bobby Maffei amid the team’s offseason shakeup on the staff.
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 3:14 PM.
