The Carolina Panthers finished the 2024 season on a high note, but one report indicates the team must build on that success if head coach Dave Canales is to return for the 2025 season. Originally earning the job after helping Baker Mayfield revive his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, nobody expected Canales to turn this team into a contender overnight. Instead, he was simply supposed to turn Bryce Young into a franchise quarterback. While the 2024 season started on a low note, the coach and quarterback turned it around and finished the campaign looking like the real deal.
Now, it’s time for Dave Canales to start winning games for the Panthers. In a recent article, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio named Canales as one of five coaches that could be on the hot seat at the end of the year, and warned that a losing campaign could cost him his job.
“There’s a glass-half-full vibe around the Panthers, given that they finished relatively strong in 2024 after a disastrous start,” Florio writes. “If that comes to fruition for the 2025 Panthers, all will be well. If the wheels come off, it could spell doom for Canales, who enters his second season on the job.”
Florio: Panthers Could Fire Dave Canales If 2025 Disappoints
Despite their 5-12 record, the Panthers should be excited about the upcoming season. Head coach Dave Canales inherited a mess last year, and he accomplished his goal of getting something out of former first-overall pick Bryce Young. Now, the team should focus on winning a wide-open NFC South.
While this roster still has flaws, they bolstered the defense with free agent signings like Trevon Moehrig and Tershawn Wharton and added two promising pass rushers in second-round pick Nic Scourton and third-round pick Princely Umanmielen. While the roster doesn’t have the talent to compete for a title, another five-win season would be disappointing.
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