Dave Canales belongs among NFL head coaches on the hot seat after 2 games

Panthers head coach Dave Canales is only 19 games into his career, but things have been rocky enough that he should be concerned.

Jan 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales celebrates with quarterback Bryce Young (9) after an overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Xavier Legette, Chuba Hubbard, Trevin Wallace, Christian Rozeboom and Tre'Von Moehrig are all on the list of Carolina Panthers players who have disappointed so far this season. While there are many players worth pointing a finger at, the fact that there are so many under-peformers indicates that this is a coaching problem.

Dave Canales is going into his 20th career game as an NFL head coach on Sunday, and it's been rocky enough that he should have some concern about his job longevity. As is appropriate, Canales has been named among the league's head coaches who are on the hot seat going into Week 3 by CBS Sports.

CBS Sports on Dave Canales

"The Panthers have seemingly regressed after their strong finish from last seaosn, so there's still time to turn this around. If Young doesn't get better and this team continues to lose games in a poor NFC South, how long will a volatile ownership stomach losing and pull the plug on Canales as a result?"

CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 24: Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper during an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Carolina Panthers on November 24, 2024 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. | (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Canales' play-calling hasn't been great - as the last drive against Arizona illustrated all too well. The far bigger problem is that too many players are not playing at their best and the Panthers continue to be really, really sloppy at the start of games.

While team owner David Tepper has been a bit quick with his trigger finger to fire coaches in the past, in this case if Canales does not turn things arond soon - and dramatically so - he will be 100% justified in doing so.

If the Panthers front office does decide to let Canales go in the middle of the season, they should give defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero a chance to show what he can do as an NFL head coach rather than bringing in ouside help. Carolina's defense has performed pretty well so far considering the serious lack of talent they have to work with.