Carolina Panthers News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Jul 23, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers Head Coach Dave Canales walks to the field for Panthers Training Camp. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Dave Canales rightfully under pressure to deliver big jump for Panthers in 2025

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Russell Baxter | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 8:00 AM ET

It’s a league in which dramatic improvement from one season to the next is becoming more and more common. Take 2024 for instance. The Los Angeles Chargers rebounded from a 5-12 last-place finish in 2023 and were an 11-6 playoff team this past season. The Washington Commanders were in the NFC East basement with a 4-13 mark in ’23, then went 12-5 and reached the NFC Championship Game in 2024.

With even the slightest of improvement, there come greater expectations. That certainly seems to be the case when it comes to the Carolina Panthers. The franchise is in the midst of a rough seven-year stretch in which the club has posted seven straight losing campaigns. There has been no playoff appearance since 2017, and no division title nor postseason victory since 2015.

Carolina Panthers made some strides in 2024

Dating back to 2018, the Panthers own a combined 36-80 record. They have also had seven different head coaches over that span, three of them dismissed in the middle of a season. In 2024, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator Dave Canales became the franchise’s latest sideline leader. As for those aforementioned expectations, they come in the fact that off a 2-15 showing in 2023 and a 1-7 start this past season, the Panthers won four of their final nine games in ’24.

Excitement surrounding the team also comes in the form of numerous changes to the roster. General manager Dan Morgan was extremely active this offseason, addressing the team’s major issues in every aspect. There’s a bolstered wide receiving corps with 2025 draft choices such as first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan and sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr., as well as free-agent pickup Hunter Renfrow.

The worst defense in the league this past season could have five new starters, and should be better with 2023 Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown returning after missing all but one game in ’24. Throw in emerging quarterback Bryce Young and some feel Canales’s club could unseat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South.

Dave Canales’s Panthers need to show more improvement in 2025

Only the New York Jets are in the midst of a longer playoff drought in the NFL than the Panthers. The team has also lost at least 10 games six straight years. Team owner David Tepper has certainly shown little patience since taking over in 2018.

You could make an argument that one thing that may put a little added pressure on Canales and the Panthers this season is the status of the NFC South. It’s not exactly a powerhouse division. The Buccaneers have owned the top spot each of the past four seasons, but have won at least 10 games just twice since 2021. It appears to be a division ripe for the taking.

Canales’s work with quarterbacks has been highly regarded. This past season, he made the decision to bench Young after a miserable two-game start. It turned out to be the right decision and the first pick in the 2023 NFL draft made some big-time strides. Now a little more is expected from a team that seemed to gain a little confidence over the second half of 2024. Will patience be exercised if the team stumbles out of the gate in 2025?

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: