When Dave Canales took the reins and became head coach of the Carolina Panthers, they were the worst team in football. In fact, the past few seasons have been brutal for the Panthers. Last season they finished 2-15 and had the worst record in the NFL.
The locker room has been a turnstile for both players and coaches. The Panthers have had four different head coaches in the past four years. Two were interns for Matt Rhule and Frank Reich who got fired midseason. As far as players, too many have come and gone to count.
Ultimately the team’s struggles fall on the owner, David Tepper The decisions that he has made for the organization have left fans in shambles.
One major decision included trading away star running back Christian McCaffery. McCaffrey has found a home in San Francisco where he is putting up some amazing numbers for the 49ers.
One of the biggest trades in team history occurred in the 2023 offseason when the Panthers traded away elite wide receiver DJ Moore, It cost the team a number nine overall draft pick in 2023, a 61st overall pick in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024 and a second-round pick in 2025 all for the number one overall pick in 2023. With this pick the Panthers drafted the quarterback out of Alabama, Bryce Young.
These trades seemed to be the right move at the time as the Panthers needed a franchise quarterback. However, things did not work out in Bryce’s rookie season, as he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. Part of this was due to not having enough weapons to surround him, and the other part was due to the horrible coaching.
So after Frank Reich got fired, the Panthers were again on the hunt for another coach.
After a lot of interviewing the Panthers found their guy, Dave Canales. Former quarterbacks coach for the Seahawks and offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Canales seemed like the first right choice that David Tepper had made, however, Canales was put in a tough situation in Carolina. He had to try and turn around a hopeless Panthers team.
However, things did start looking up in Carolina. The team signed a previous star receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Diontae Johnson. The team also bolstered its offensive line by signing guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt. With these moves, the Panthers added beef in their two weakest areas in the prior season, wide receiver and O-line.
Despite this, Canales had a tough time figuring out how he wanted to try to turn around the bad vibes within the locker room. Players felt depressed, there was no sense of purpose and morale was at an all-time low.
The NFfL’s number one draft pick, second-year quarterback Bryce Young, didn’t have much confidence coming into his sophomore season as he couldn’t take any positives away from his rookie campaign. He was far from the player the organization thought he would be and his lack of success spread.
This new season offered a clean slate. With new offensive weapons and a new coach, fans were more optimistic that 2024 would be a much better season than the team’s 2-15 2023 campaign.
But to most people’s surprise, the worst NFL team lowered the bar and became an embarrassment to the league.
The Panthers took on the Saints in week one. The Carolina faithful lost all hope in their team when, on the opening drive of the game, Saints quarterback Derek Carr hit receiver Rashid Shaheed for a 59-yard touchdown pass. The game didn’t improve much after this as Bryce Young completed only 43 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions. The Saints dominated Carolina in a 47-10 victory. Carolina fans were in disbelief once again.
Week two of the NFL season was just as bad for the Panthers, who were beaten in their home opener by the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 26-3.
With tickets being listed for $5 resale, and with some fans even going as far as burning jerseys, something needed to change.
With consistent struggle from the offensive position, the new head coach had a difficult decision to make. Keep playing the young quarterback and potentially continue to ruin his confidence or hand the ball over to the veteran Andy Dalton. Dalton is a widely recognized player in the NFL who has played for five different NFL teams. Mostly as a backup, the Panthers gave him a shot in just week three, hopefully to save them from another horrific season.
Canales benches Young. Enter the “Red Rifle.” When Dalton was announced as the new starting quarterback for Carolina there was a new sense of hope throughout the fanbase. A change and a fresh start seemed right for the team.
The Raiders were next up on the Panther’s young season. Going into the week three game, a lot of heat was directed toward the Panther’s organization.
Fox Sports pregame commentator, Jimmie Johnson had a lot to say about the disgrace of the Panthers organization.
“Why has he had all these coordinators and all these head coaches? The owner of the Carolina Panthers. That’s the problem. He’s making major decisions without listening to his football people,” former two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Jimmie Johnson said on Fox NFL Kickoff. “He’s the one who wanted Bryce Young as the number one pick. And also, Christian McCaffery, DJ Moore, Brian Burns, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold. Look at coaches- Steve Wilks, Frank Reich, Matt Rhule, on and on. He’s run them all off. He has got to listen to his football people and quit playing fantasy football.”
While all of this shade thrown towards the Panthers, it didn’t change the hope that fans had for the team with Andy Dalton at the helm. There was a new hope.
Initially, the change was like night and day. Most fans said watching Dalton after Young was like watching a whole new football team. Andy Dalton provided the spark that this team needed.
Throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns in week four, Dalton led the Panthers to their first win of the season 36-22. In fact, this game made Andy Dalton the only quarterback in the NFL at the time to throw for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns.
Not only this, but Dave Canales got his first head coaching win as a member of the Carolina Panthers.
The locker room was now a home for excitement and optimism. Vibes were high and the fanbase was re-energized and optimistic.
“I went to the fourth game and feel like even though we still struggle things are looking up and it’s more fun to watch. With our new coach and quarterback, we might be able to make the playoffs eventually,” Ellie Puma (‘25), a lifelong Panthers fan, said.
With a quarterback change and a win, there is more energy throughout the whole organization. Panther fans have hope for the future. Carolina has a great young coach and players who now bring the energy back to Carolina Panther football. The fans are even bringing back the old mantra from Panther great Sam Mills: “Keep Pounding.”
