When the Carolina Panthers hired Dave Canales from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the hope would be he would add excitement and a fresh perspective on what went wrong during the 2023 season.
Not even a month into the job, he's already doing exactly that.
On Tuesday, he admitted that it took him two games of film to become emotionally invested in the Panthers. He also explained that he sees areas where Carolina can hit the ground running in 2024.
"I'm all in," Canales said. "I feel like a kid in here. I'm learning all the ins and outs of a defense I have been trying to attack for a long time – and to see it done really well has been great."
The Panthers retained the entire defensive staff at the request of Canales.
During his introductory press conference, Canales went to bat for the Panthers' current defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero.
He often described him as someone who is slated to be a "big part" of what the Panthers do in the 2024 NFL season.
Canales will manage the offense and Evero will be given license to have his defense play the brand of football that defined the one bright spot of a 2-15 football team.
And with Canales already fully engaged, it proves that maybe David Tepper and company finally made the right head coach hire.
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