
Just eight games into Dave Canales’ tenure as coach of the Carolina Panthers, the 43-year-old found himself quickly slipping into a familiar, bleak territory in Charlotte.
The former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator had a 1-7 record to his name, sending grim flashbacks to fans who had just seen previous Panthers coaches Matt Rhule and Frank Reich each limited to single wins in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The same fighting spirit that post-Rhule interim coach Steve Wilks instilled with a 6-6 record has made a resurgence during the second half of Canales’ first season — one where the team has picked up elusive wins while also taking many good opponents to the wire.
The young coach’s decision to temporarily bench 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after Week Two has paid dividends as the former Heisman-winning quarterback is finally resembling his old self and leading Carolina down the field with the same confident, cerebral style that he utilized in Alabama.
As the team’s offensive play caller, Canales has been at his best when he has modeled Carolina’s identity around the team’s running attack led by 1,000-yard rusher Chuba Hubbard, who has now solidified his status as a respected running back in his fourth season.
There have been times where Canales has overthought his offensive strategy, occasionally abandoning the run in situational misfires that have led to poor results. And there’s no getting around the Panthers’ defense, which ranks among the worst in franchise history with a historically-ugly rush defense so putrid that the jury is out if defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will still be around next season.
The season-ending Week One meniscus tear sustained by Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown — arguably the most talented Panther — is emblematic of the series of misfortunes that Carolina has faced this season. The team has been forced to use a league-high 87 different players during the season as injuries have piled up in droves.
However, there’s something to say about the way Canales has injected a shot of life into a lifeless franchise while invigorating a second-year quarterback who was floated by some as a potential all-time draft bust given the worth that Carolina gave up to draft him.
After the quarterback’s disaster of a rookie year, team owner David Tepper and general manager Dan Morgan specifically brought Canales into the fold based on his history of turning around the careers of Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield, with the hope that the QB-friendly coach could generate a reclamation project hat trick with Young as the third feather in his cap.
Young hasn’t been flawless in his Lazarus attempt; a four-turnover day against Dallas on Dec. 14 sticks out like a sore thumb, and even the circumstances of his resurgence under Canales might deserve a half asterisk given that he was only thrust back into the fold after backup Andy Dalton was banged up during a car accident in late October.
But as fate would have it, both Young’s on-field play and body language have been night-and-day compared to the output he displayed during his first 18 games. That maturation process is exactly what Tepper and Morgan were looking for when they hired Canales in the first place.
After Young’s rough showing at home against the Cowboys, he bounced back the next week against Arizona with one of his best performances to date as the Panthers pulled out a 36-30 overtime victory.
“He was really decisive, you saw some of the scrambles early in the first half where he was able to pick up some critical downs for us there, and run one in for a touchdown,” Canales of Young said after the win. “So it was about just being decisive, knowing where all the bones are buried and concepts and being able to get to the scramble when those windows open up for him.”
The 2024 season will be remembered as a transition year for a Panthers team that has one foot stuck in the mud of the past but also one foot stationed on dry land thanks to the foundation being built by Canales.
Carolina’s front office now has a total of nine draft picks to play with, with the general expectation being that it will use the majority of them to beef up their defense, promoting a more balanced team effort to complement the obvious growth of the offense.
As it goes, the team will continue to put its trust in Canales to thrive from the seeds he has planted.