4 Carolina Panthers with soaring stock after 2024 offseason workouts
By Dean Jones
Dave Canales - Carolina Panthers HC
Dave Canales was a controversial head coaching choice for the Carolina Panthers. Many analysts thought this came too soon for the progressive thinker after just one season as an offensive coordinator. That was not an opinion shared by team owner David Tepper or others in the decision-making process.
Canales is a complete U-turn from how the Panthers approached their head coaching hires under Tepper's watch previously. He's a young offensive mind who's fought his way to the top. He's young enough to maintain high standards and keep up with modern-day trends around the league. He's also renowned for his work with quarterbacks, which no doubt tipped the scales in his favor.
It's early in the process, but Canales left a big impression over offseason workouts. He speaks with such conviction and clarity that it's hard not to buy in. His positive outlook and taking each day as it comes rejuvenated a roster in desperate need of galvanizing. Something that's also won over his harshest critics among the fanbase.
Fans have been burned by enthusiasm at this stage of the football calendar before. Yet somehow, this time feels different with Canales leading the charge.
There's more alignment. There's more purpose in every practice and every detail schematically. Canales is focusing on the fundamentals and improving gradually rather than implementing anything more drastic. Building back confidence after such a torrid 2023 campaign will take time, but he's off to a tremendous start.
Concerns remain amid all the optimism. How will Canales handle the pressure cooker of calling offensive plays while also managing an entire game-day setup? Can the coach keep an even keel if the Panthers don't start well? These are two questions he must answer emphatically to prove himself worthy of this significant responsibility.
The Panthers are in good hands with Canales. But it won't take long for this newfound belief to evaporate if his team falls into the same bad habits next season.