Could the Carolina Panthers fire head coach Dave Canales after next season?
Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales is considered on the "hot seat" next season.
NFL analyst Moe Moton of Bleacher Report believes the Panthers could fire Canales after next season.
"Typically, head coaches coming off a playoff appearance with a team that's had little success in recent years aren't on the hot seat," Moton wrote. "However, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper can be impulsive. And even though the Panthers won the NFC South title last season, they finished with a sub-.500 record and needed help in Week 18 to win the division. So, head coach Dave Canales must prove that his team didn't just benefit from playing in the league's weakest division."
Canales is 13-21 in the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs with the Panthers. He was hired in 2024.
Carolina went 8-9 last season but won the NFC South. Canales and Co. lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round at home by a final score of 34-31.
Canales announced at this year's NFL combine that OC Brad Idzik will call offensive plays in 2026. It will be fascinating to see how QB Bryce Young plays with Idzik calling plays.
"This is something that all of us collectively have talked about as an organization. It was my idea to come up with this," Canales said at the NFL scouting combine. "... [Idzik's] continuity with the system, his continuity with the players, being able to do that, I believe will be the best thing for us moving forward."
Young is set to make $12.1 million next season in the fourth year of his rookie deal. His fifth-year option is worth a guaranteed $25.9 million.
Young finished the 2025 season with 3,011 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 216 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He led the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 campaign.
Young enters next season with 8,291 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 718 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in a Carolina uniform. He's 14-30-0 as a starter.
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