The Carolina Panthers are entering their second season under head coach Dave Canales, who led the team to a 5-12 record in his first season.
5-12 may not be exciting to anyone else, but the Panthers were coming off a two-win season in 2023, so last season was an upgrade.
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There’s still work to do, and the Panthers’ coaching staff knows that. But if you take a look at the latest ESPN coaching staff rankings, the media doesn’t have much hope in a turnaround for the franchise.
Ben Solak of ESPN ranked the Panthers’ coaching staff the 24th-best staff in the league heading into the new season. Solak praised Canales’ work in his first season in Carolina, but knows the daunting task awaiting this team.
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“Still, it’s tough to get the Panthers much higher than this until we see what it looks like for a second season. The best thing they did on offense wasn’t so much improving Young’s play as it was improving the running game around Young. The reloaded offensive line, along with Canales and Idzik’s commitment to heavy personnel and under-center, downhill runs, created a steady grind of moderate gains. When you pound the rock, you create easier reads for a young quarterback, and all of a sudden, those one-on-one downfield opportunities fill the kid with confidence. Can they continue to get that caliber of play out of Chuba Hubbard? Can they put more on Young’s plate? The offense is still growing,” wrote Solak.
The Panthers have a lot of work to do to prove everyone wrong.
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