The Carolina Panthers are taking a new direction. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales will now lead the team during the 2024 offseason. After a catastrophic debut season for Bryce Young, the organization hopes to provide their young quarterback a new strategy to help him flourish at the next level.
Canales is one of the league’s younger head coaches, at 42 years old. Because of this, several players appear to have misidentified him as someone else. Consider new Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to Ari Meirov, Johnson admitted to not realizing Canales was his head coach.
“To be honest, at first I didn’t know he was the head coach. When I went to dinner with him, he was just talking, like, there’s this energy he brings. After the dinner, they told me he was the head coach… I was so surprised. But other than that, I love his energy, I’m excited to play for him.”
Fans will interpret this interaction in any which way. The good news for the Panthers is that it seems like Canales is already connecting with the young group he has. It might be considered a slight by some, but one can see it as Dave being interactive and chatty, less informal like the old-school style of coaching.
