NFL Insider Predicts Panthers Replace Dave Canales, Bryce Young in 2027

The Carolina Panthers seem to be on the upswing. While this era technically began with Bryce Young being drafted in 2023, Dave Canales was brought in in 2024. Either way, this group has steadily improved.

Young and Frank Reich/Chris Tabor won two games in 2023. Canales came in and they won five. In year two of the combo, they won eight games and made the playoffs. The arrow seems to be pointing up.

Yet, one NFL insider has Canales not only on the hot seat, but on one of the hottest seats in the NFL and made a bold, dangerous prediction about both Canales and Young.

Dave Canales on hot seat with Bryce Young, according to one insider.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales celebrates with quarterback Bryce Young | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

FOX Sports analyst Ralph Vacchiano ranked Dave Canales' seat as the fourth-hottest in the NFL, trailing only Todd Bowles, Nick Sirianni, and Aaron Glenn. That's not exactly a good group to be included in.

What's the reasoning? Vacchiano wrote, "His 2025 season was a nauseating rollercoaster ride. He went from the hot seat to Coach of the Year candidate to the hot seat again and then to the playoffs, where his team gave the Rams all they could handle."

While the season ended on a relative high note, the insider questions if that is truly sustainable. It may not be, and Vacchiano said that Canales doesn't have "much room to backslide" after starting 13-21 and playing for "an impulsive owner."

Vacchiano also noted that Canales' primary role was to develop Bryce Young, which has been a bit of a rollercoaster as well. "The progress there has been inconsistent. Canales was supposed to turn the former top pick into a franchise quarterback. If that doesn’t happen by next January, the Panthers could be looking for both a new coach and quarterback," he argued.

That may be a bit drastic. The Panthers are finally exercising patience, but they've probably learned that growth and development aren't linear. They were way ahead of schedule in 2025, so if they drop a bit in 2026 from that high watermark, it wouldn't be a shock.

Would it be enough to warrant starting over entirely? It doesn't seem likely. The Panthers are trying to build a winner, and they know that coaches and quarterbacks need time. They've seen enough to give both of them that time, so one more year to make it big doesn't sound fair.

That would put the team in a really bad spot. It would likely mean starting all the way over, including potentially moving on from Jaycee Horn and Derrick Brown, who would be sort of aging out of a true rebuild.

That's not what anyone wants, so the Panthers should and probably will continue to exercise patience with this QB-coach combo.

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