Panthers extend one of the longest tenured members of their team

The longest-tenured player for the Carolina Panthers will be sticking around for one more year. The team announced long-snapper J.J. Jansen has signed a one-year contract with them, according to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk. He’s played on the Panthers since 2009 and has played in every single game for the team during that time span. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2008 by the Green Bay Packers.

Jansen has now officially played in 209 total regular-season games, and he’s only 12 games away from tying John Kasay for the Panthers’ franchise record. The former Notre Dame product was named to the Pro Bowl in 2014.

Panthers announce new coaching staff hires

The Panthers hired former Missouri defensive coordinator and former NFL head coach Steve Wilks to become their defensive backs coach, according to team press release on Wednesday. Wilks spent one season at Missouri under Eli Drinkwitz in 2021 but returns to the NFL with a familiar team.

Steve Wilks previously served the Carolina Panthers from 2012-2017 as a defensive backs coach and assistant head coach. He took the defensive coordinator position in 2017 and served one season before taking the Arizona Cardinals head coaching position.

Although he lasted just one season with the Cardinals, he immediately joined the Cleveland Browns as defensive coordinator in 2019. After taking a year off in 2020, he returned to the college ranks for the first time since 2005 and stayed for just one season.

The Panthers also filled another essential coaching vacancy, on defense. On Tuesday, the Panthers announced that they agreed to terms with Paul Pasqualoni to be their defensive line coach.

Pasqualoni is a veteran coach with extensive experience on both the college and NFL levels. Not only that, but he has coached on both sides of the ball. The 72-year-old coach spent 14 years of his career as the head coach at Syracuse and was recently inducted into their Hall of Fame. Pasqualoni was in Florida the last two years after joining the Gators in 2020. He was retained by Billy Napier before leaving for the Panthers job.

Napier spoke very highly of Pasqualoni in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. When asked about retaining Pasqualoni, Napier replied:

“Wisdom. Not only is he a very knowledgeable guy, but he’s applied that knowledge. This guy, there’s a difference knowing what to do and then actually taking that knowledge and applying it. He’s solved a lot of problems in his day,” Napier told the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s seen it done a lot of different ways. You’re always looking at people who have perspective, who have maturity — and will give you an opinion. I’m always seeking out opinions. I want somebody that’s different than me. He’s capable of doing that.”

As far as his time in the pros goes, he has served as tight ends, linebackers, and defensive line coach during two stints with the Cowboys. Pasqualoni has also worked as the line coach in Houston and Chicago, and the defensive coordinator in Miami from 2008 to 2009 and in Detroit from 2018 to 2019. Altogether, he brings 10 years worth of experience at the NFL level to the Panthers.

On3’s James Fletcher III also contributed to this story.