Jan. 11, 2026, 1:56 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales plans on keeping up his heavy plate.
Canales, following last night’s 34-31 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL’s wild-card round, chatted with reporters on Sunday afternoon. He was asked if he will maintain his role as the team’s offensive play-caller heading into the 2026 campaign.
“Yes, right now,” Canales replied. “And again, all of these questions is all stuff we’re gonna be talking about as a staff coming up in the next couple of days, trying to get a chance to regroup on the whole season and how it came out. We’re always gonna look for ways to improve what we’re doing.”
The Panthers, as a whole, have certainly improved from Canales’ first year as head coach. In addition to upping their win total by three from 2024 to 2025, this season’s team clinched the organization’s first playoff berth since 2017 and first NFC South title since 2015.
But the offense, under Canales’ sheet, did take a slight dip. The unit went from averaging 298.0 yards and 20.1 points per game in 2024 to 295.6 yards and 18.3 points in 2025.
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.
While he does not call the plays, Brad Idzik seems likely to enter his third season as Carolina’s offensive coordinator. Idzik, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, may have outside interest for a larger role elsewhere.
Canales also announced that the Panthers will keep their defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero, in place as well.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.