NIC2(eth1) loses settings after removing NIC1(eth0)

Question

Using VMware on a linux OS.

I have 2 network adapters on the VM.

Network Adapter 1 (eth0) using dhcp with the IP 10.1.1.2 Network Adapter 2 (eth1) using dhcp with the IP 10.1.1.3

I am trying to remove Network Adapter 1 (eth0) from the Linux VM, but after I do.

Network Adapter 2 (eth1) becomes eth0 and both ifcfg-eth* files disappear.

how can I prvent this so Network Adapter 2 (eth1) stays persistent?

Thank you!