2025 coaching carousel proves the Carolina Panthers made the right choice

Dave Canales was one of the better hires last offseason.

Dec 1, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales talks to the official in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers were one of many teams who hired new head coaches last offseason. Following a disastrous 11-game stretch by Frank Reich and not much of an improvement by special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, the Panthers took a huge risk hiring Dave Canales.

He had been an offensive coordinator for one year. His entire coaching experience in the NFL prior to that had basically been more than a decade as a quarterbacks coach. The Panthers decided to skyrocket his ascension, and about a year later, they seem to have made one of the few good decisions in the last coaching carousel.

Recent firings prove the Panthers did right with Dave Canales

The Panthers may have helped start the trend of firing coaches very early. They fired Frank Reich after 11 games, not even giving him a full season to try and make it work. That was probably the right call, but it may have started something. Coaches are no longer given as much time as they once were.

The Panthers hired Dave Canales to be the next full-time head coach, and he joined a slew of first-time head coaches last year. There were nine coaching changes done before the 2024 season, and six had never been a head coach before.

Of those six, Canales, Raheem Morris, Brian Callahan, and Mike McDonald remain in their jobs just one year later. Jerod Mayo and Antonio Pierce were canned. Of the remaining coaches, only McDonald and Canales can say their seats aren't warm.

They took a huge risk in hiring Canales, and he was considered much riskier than some of the other first-time head coaches. Among them, it's hard to argue that he's not one of the best ones. Mike McDonald seems to be doing a pretty good job with the Seattle Seahawks, but Canales might be better than everyone else.

Carolina made a risky bet on Canales, and obviously, David Tepper has shown no loyalty to any coach yet, but he's making Tepper stay back by doing a good job. That's more than some of these other recent coaching hires, some of which are already back on the market.

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