HC Dave Canales Reveals Huge, Necessary Change for Panthers Offense at 2026 Combine

Dave Canales has called plays during both years as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. He is not planning to do that anymore. He revealed the bombshell change at the 2026 NFL Combine.

Canales had a bit of a skyrocket trajectory as a coach. He was an offensive assistant for many seasons before landing his first playcalling gig with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023.

The Panthers hired him from there, meaning they brought in a head coach with one year of playcalling under his belt. He called plays every game for those two seasons, but he has decided not to do it anymore.

Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik walks out to training camp | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Instead, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, a longtime positional assistant for Canales who has spent the last two seasons as his offensive coordinator, will take that role over.

Canales: Tough decision but it was his choice to do it. pic.twitter.com/fiVIsM6Yso
— Joe Person (@josephperson) February 24, 2026

Canales said, "It was my decision. It was extremely difficult for me because I do enjoy calling plays. It's a part of the game that really thrills me. I get a lot of gratification out of watching the plan unfold."

He loves making "critical calls" in games, and he didn't want to give that up. However, the brain trust (Canales, Dan Morgan, and Brandt Tilis) agreed that this would be the smartest move going forward.

"I saw this as an opportunity to make the Panthers better," Canales said. It's hard not to see where he's coming from. His playcalling often struggled, perhaps due to the sheer volume of what he was handling.

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Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales on the field in the second quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

He has a good grip on the culture, and he's transformed the Panthers' locker room. But sometimes, his in-game management and playcalling were curious. His concepts and schematics will still be in play, but he'll be able to focus much more on those specific situations and not have to balance calling plays with that.

Idzik is a Canales coach through and through, so the offense won't change dramatically. The players aren't going to have to learn a new system, which is good since they've grown in the last two seasons.

What they will get is a smoother offensive operation. The delay of game penalties, timeouts, and pre-snap issues should clear up as a result, because Idzik won't have much else to do other than call plays.

This does make the preseason that much more important. The starters will need more than a few series to get used to Idzik's calls and his tendencies so that issues don't crop up in the early weeks.