Panthers Hire Bucs’ OC Dave Canales

On September 7th, 2003, my dad brought me to my first ever Carolina Panthers game in, “Ericsson Stadium”. I was a wide-eyed and wonderstruck 2-year-old who had never experienced such a stimulating spectacle. On that day, after a lackluster and boring first half, head coach John Fox turned to Quarterback Jake Delhomme. Delhomme entered the game and lit a spark in Carolina; the Cardiac Cats were born. Delhomme brought the Panthers back from a 14-point deficit to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-23 in the home opener, giving life and hope to 70,000 ravenous fans. On that day, a lifelong and die-hard Panthers fan was born. 

Over the past four seasons, the Panthers have posted a stifling .284 winning percentage; one of the worst stretches in professional sports since 2020. Fans may attribute the struggles to many reasons, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. Yes, Owner David Tepper has made plenty of mistakes with head coaches, quarterbacks, trades, stadium decisions (moving away from grass), and culture. However, what matters now is righting the wrongs and moving on from mediocrity to excellence. The Dave Canales hiring has the potential to start the process. 

Canales is a proven quarterback whisperer. He was the Quarterbacks Coach and Passing Game Coordinator in Seattle for Russell Wilson and then the Quarterbacks Coach for the resurgence of Geno Smith. This past season, he revitalized Baker Mayfield’s career in Tampa Bay, where Mayfield threw for a career-high 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns while maintaining a 64.3 completion percentage. It sounds too good to be true for Panthers fans, who hope that Bryce Young can turn into the player we all believed him to be at the start of the season. Look, Tepper has a history of poor management and foolish head coaching hires. However, this one looks a bit different. Canales is a young, vibrant, ex-strength coach; who displays passion, poise, and promise. The newly made-up “3P’s” are what have me, a lifelong, depressed Panthers fan, excited. Only time will tell with the Canales hire, but in fifteen years, we could look back at this moment as the day the Carolina Panthers changed.