Gerber: Dave Canales and Dan Morgan are going to save the Panthers

By Clark Gerber, WRAL Sports contributor

Charlotte, N.C. — I was skeptical at first.

I had barely even heard of Dave Canales, let alone pegged him as a top Panthers head coaching candidate.

With so many big names on the market this year -- Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel just to name a few -- I figured Carolina should go big-game hunting in order to reset the culture and turn things around.

Call me a sap, but just a couple short weeks later, I've completely changed my opinion.

Canales is going to be a home-run hire for the Panthers.

Give it two years, and he's going to have them back in the playoffs.

Canales is an offensive specialist. Right away, that makes him a better fit than Belichick, Carroll, Harbaugh or Vrabel because this team's future rests entirely on the development of Bryce Young.

Canales did wonders with (former Panthers quarterback) Baker Mayfield this past season, whose physical profile is pretty similar to Young's. Under Canales, Mayfield posted career highs in completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns, leading the Buccaneers on an improbable run to the playoffs.

True, the Bucs have Mike Evans and the Panthers do not, but let's say Carolina goes out and signs somebody like Tee Higgins in free agency (as has been rumored for months). Now, we're cooking with gas.

As of Wednesday, Spotrac.com shows the Panthers have about $31.03 million in salary cap space.

Mayfield gave Canales a sparkling review at the Pro Bowl Games this week.

"He’s an unbelievable guy," Mayfield said of Canales. "The first guy I’ve ever been around that shows up with the same positive attitude every single day, and it doesn’t waver at all. They’re gonna get a guy that his infectious personality — it’s gonna go throughout the building.”

Talk about a culture changer.

That's not your typical player interview word salad. Mayfield's praise was thought out and specific, which says a lot about his opinion of a former coach who is leaving to join a division rival.

It's safe to say the Panthers front office, specifically new general manager Dan Morgan, shares a similar opinion of Canales.

Morgan and Canales worked together with the Seattle Seahawks from 2010 to 2017. Clearly, Morgan pushed for him over bigger names like Vrabel and didn't even bother to wait for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, whom the Panthers coveted in last year's head coaching search.

Canales is Morgan's guy. Both spoke extensively about "alignment" in their introductory news conference, which is something that the Panthers really haven't had since David Tepper bought the team.

Quick aside on Tepper, it should be noted that Carolina's much-maligned owner only spoke for two minutes at last Thursday's presser. Per The Athletic's Joe Person, Tepper later told reporters that he would not be answering questions because "I'm in the background now."

It's happening! Alignment!

Priority number one for the Panthers' new dynamic duo will be establishing a culture and re-shaping the roster.

Morgan clearly has a goal -- and it's the correct one -- of bringing in players who are "dawgs" on the field and embody the "Keep Pounding" mantra.

You could say that's cheesy or lip service, but as a former Panther himself, Morgan knows that's how this franchise needs to be built to have success.

Seriously, think of any good Panthers team in franchise history. One thing they all had in common was a smash-mouth offense that could run the football and a gritty defense.

Keeping on defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero should help in that regard. His unit was decimated by injuries in 2023, yet Carolina still ranked fourth in the league in total defense, allowing 293.9 yards per game.

On a 2-15 team, that's nothing short of a miracle.

So, the pieces are in place at the top. The alignment is there. Now it all hinges on a soon-to-be 23-year-old franchise quarterback and the 42-year old first-time head coach who was brought in to fix him.

Young had significant flaws in his game as a rookie, but with the right group around him, I still think he has the potential to be a top 10 NFL quarterback in a couple years.

Canales deserves some patience too as he adjusts to his new role (something that's going to be very hard to remember in the moment this fall), but I'm convinced that hiring him was a big step in the right direction.

The best thing the Panthers can do now is focus on process. Day-to-day, week-to-week, year-to-year, staying aligned until they're back to being a winning football team. Again, I'm on record, give it two seasons.

In other words, Keep Pounding.