Jun 11, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Team Owner David Tepper talks with coaches during minicamp at Bank of America Stadium. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Mike Florio predicts Panthers owner David Tepper may fire Dave Canales if 2025 season is a disaster

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Tim Weaver | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 10:30 AM ET

Even though the Carolina Panthers put together another five-win season, team owner David Tepper decided to keep the band togher in the front office, retaining general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales for at least another year.

Just because they managed to keep their jobs in 2025 is no guarantee they'll be around much longer than that, though. If things don't go as planned this coming season then there is at least a decent chance we'll see another head coach change. Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk is predicting that Tepper may fire Dave Canales if Carolina's season is a disaster.

"Dave Canales, number five, the Panthers’ head coach entering year three, if they have a disaster this year, I think David Tepper, in lieu of throwing a drink on a fan, may fill out a pink slip for Dave Canales if they have a disaster. And I know, maybe they will, I don’t know. But I know this, there’s going to be six seven eight nine teams at the end of the year that the feeling is going to be they sucked, and what are they going to do to get better? And if the Panthers fall into that band of teams, could be they disband the coaching staff and David Tepper finds somebody else.”

That might sound hasty at this point in the calendar, but if the Panthers aren't ravaged by injuries and they can't manage to win at least seven games then Tepper will have cause to fire Canales and anybody else on his staff.

Canales showed some potential in his first year as head coach, particularly as a culture developer. His previous experience with Pete Carroll in Seattle seems to have rubbed off in a big way, and if nothing else Canales' players seem to genuinely love him.

This is a results-oriented business, though and if Canales doesn't develop his own game then he won't last long in this position. Canales was recently ranked at the very bottom of a chart evaluating the league's offensive play-callers and Si ranks the Canales-Bryce Young combo just 25th in the league entering the 2025 season.

Helping Bryce Young along in his development is obviously the top priority for Canales, who had his moments as a playcaller - particularly in near-upsets against the Chiefs and the Eagles However, overall was disappointing in this department. The Wild Card picture is pretty crowded in the NFC, but if Young and Canales can both grow their game there's no reason they can't compete for an NFC South title - assuming the defense is at least no longer the worst in the league.

While it's an unlikely scenario given the imbalance on the roster, there's a chance that the defense could take a big step forward with their upgrades and a healthy Derrick Brown to anchor it up front. If that happens and their more-talented offense disappoints, Tepper has to at least consider defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero as a serious head coach candidate to replace Canales.

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

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