ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett has officially added his final two coordinators to his coaching staff.
The Broncos named Ejiro Evero as defensive coordinator and Dwayne Stukes as special teams coordinator, the team announced Thursday. Denver also hired Marcus Dixon as the team’s defensive line coach.
Evero heads to Denver from the Los Angeles Rams, where he helped guide the back end of one of the league’s best defenses. After four seasons as the team’s safeties coach, he was named the secondary/pass game coordinator ahead of the 2021 season. The Rams allowed the second fewest passing touchdowns while recording the third most interceptions en route to a Super Bowl LVI title. In 2020, the Rams posted the league’s best defense and held offenses to 16.8 points per game and 190.7 passing yards per game.
The Broncos’ new defensive coordinator previously spent the 2016 season as a defensive quality control coach with the Packers and five years with the 49ers from 2011-15. In Green Bay, Evero worked with then-defensive coordinator Dom Capers. According to his Los Angeles Rams bio, Evero broke down game film and analyzed offensive tendencies, among other responsibilities. Capers recently joined the Broncos as a senior defensive assistant.
Before arriving in San Francisco, Evero spent three seasons as a defensive quality control coach with Tampa Bay. He also coached at the University of Redlands (2010) and at his alma mater, University of California-Davis (2005-06). Evero was teammates with Hackett at UC-Davis.
Stukes served as the Rams’ assistant special teams coach in 2020, and he has 13 years of NFL experience. He previously worked as a Jaguars defensive assistant for two seasons (2019-20) and an assistant special teams coach with the Giants (2016-17) and Bears (2013-14).
The University of Virginia alum also spent six seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2006-11. During his final season with the Bucs, Stukes served as the Buccaneers’ special teams coordinator, and he helped kicker Connor Barth post the third-highest field-goal percentage in the league. Stukes’ roles in Tampa also including assistant defensive backs coach, special teams quality control coach and coaching assistant.
After a playing career at UVA, Stukes had an NFL career with the Buccaneers, Falcons and Steelers from 2000-03. He also played in NFL Europe and for the Arena Football League’s Colorado Crush.
Dixon joins the Broncos after spending the 2021 season as the Rams’ assistant defensive line coach. He previously worked at Hampton University from 2017-20, where he was responsible for the defensive line, player development and recruiting. In Los Angeles, the former first-team All-MEAC player worked with perennial All-Pro Aaron Donald as the Rams’ defensive line helped lead the team to a Super Bowl.
