Can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that Canales took a QB that initially looked to be a total flop and a roster utterly lacking talent after some horrific decisions forced on them by the owner and gave us a thrilling fourth quarter in January!!! As a lifetime fan of the Panthers I have questioned many decisions, especially those made by Tepper and the front office. But hiring Canales is the best decision made in a long time and I look forward to seeing what he does the next few years!! #keeppounding

17 comments

  1. As a Head Coach he is absolutely next level compared to anything we’ve had since peak Riverboat days.

    He does need to calm down the 4th down stuff. And I would like to see him at least get some help playcalling because it’s a clear weakness of his that needs working on

    But there’s no doubt he is here for a while so long as the vibes keep immaculate

  3. It’s refreshing to have someone who maybe needs to go for it less on 4th than the cowardly over conservative play calling of the past. Yes it’s a gamble, but a team like us has to take risks to win the big games. We never beat the Rams the first game with Rivera, as much as I like him. He would not have gone for those huge 4th down TDs

  4. His 4th down decisions are just math. They have a spreadsheet guy for this.

    I’ll trust them over us idiots on reddit

  5. Maybe, I remain on the fence. Definite improvement, he is an NFL head coach, which is the right direction. Also some very very valid and legit criticisms. I hope Dave can improve as a young HC.

  6. Love what he’s doing just hope he hands off play calling so he can manage the game

  9. I like that hews aggressive but trying to pass on that fourth and one made me want to rip my hair out

  10. I think we picked him before he was ripe. He was an OC for one year before he was tasked with leading a franchise out of misery. Experience absolutely matters. He needed more seasoning as an OC, let alone head coach.

    That said, one of his greatest assets is honest self reflection and a hunger to grow and change.

    We need to understand he isn’t a finished product and try to be patient as he grows.

    I get the feeling that after a number of years in the league, he will be top tier.

  11. He needs to hire an OC and hand that aspect of the game over to them. I imagine being a HC is tough enough having to cover both HC and OC duties really reared its ugly head several times this season. He needs to bring someone in and let them figure it out.

    He also needs to have a heart to heart with Evero about playing prevent defense on that final drive. You can’t allow a QB like that to have all day and essentially give them 10-15 yards a catch with that much time left. If there ever was a time you blitz a QB who has shown they’ve struggled dealing with it in that game, *that was it*.

    I do agree he’s our guy and I’m still on the fence with Bryce because I don’t think he’s been utilized properly. Get a real OC who can work with this offense and lean on their strengths, especially BY’s, and I think we have something.

    I’ve said multiple times in game threads this season that I’ve felt we’re a good off-season away from adding some key pieces to continue this upward trajectory. If the staff can learn from this season and build on it I’ll be one happy Panther fan.

    This season really gave us hope.fke the future. I just hope next season doesn’t crush that. We haven’t had a lot to be happy about in a decade so we’ll see how it plays out.

  14. He’s not until he shows he can playcall better. Now that we reaped some of the benefits from him we can move on to a real playcaller soon in an OC or a new HC if Canales doesn’t show improvements in those aspects. 

  15. He needs to not rely on analytics so much, take the points when he can, be less predictable on playcalling and adjust earlier in the game. I’d like to see him become a coach that plays to win rather than being one that plays not to lose. He also could use some shirts that fit.

  16. “First, you learn how to win. Then you get good!,”
    Next season we will be tested by iron!

  17. Had the most dangerous offensive team beaten twice — definitely got a stud HC here

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