Dave Canales Deserves NFL Coach Of The Year Consideration
With an upset over the Rams in Week 13, Carolina controls its own destiny with a golden opportunity to win the NFC South for the first time since 2015.
There have been many surprises in the NFL this season. The New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears entered Week 13 leading their divisions. All of those head coaches deserve Coach of the Year consideration. But Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales belongs in the conversation.
This is not to disparage Mike Vrabel, Shane Steichen or Ben Johnson, all of whom have done an admirable job leading their teams this year. However, no one expected the Panthers to be anywhere near the playoffs, let alone upset the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13 to put themselves in position to win the NFC South.
Quarterback Bryce Young is playing the best football of his career, and Canales deserves a lot of credit for that. Many considered the former Alabama signal-caller and No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick a bust, but he has reinvented himself in Canales' offense.
Dave Canales deserves NFL Coach of the Year consideration as Bryce Young is thriving, and the Panthers suddenly control their own destiny to the NFC South crown.
(Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
Young was efficient in Sunday's win over the Rams, completing 15 of 20 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He added 23 yards rushing and didn't turn the ball over. Young entered the season with a career record of 6-22 as a starter, but is 7-5 this year (Carolina lost the one game Young missed with injury).
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) lead the NFC South thanks to their nail-biting win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. However, they have yet to play Carolina this season.
The Panthers' schedule sets up well the rest of the way. They have their bye in Week 14 before a matchup against the bottom-dwelling New Orleans Saints in Week 15. More importantly, though, the Panthers play the Buccaneers in Week 16 and again in Week 18 (with a Week 17 game against the Seattle Seahawks in between).
That means Carolina controls its own destiny in the NFC South. Win out, and the Panthers are division champions. That's not a sentence many people expected to read in December.
But here we are. Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers are one of the biggest surprises in the NFL. This is a team that hasn't won eight games in a season since 2017, and they're on the cusp of accomplishing that feat in 2025.
However, they have bigger goals now. The NFC South title is within their grasp and Canales is a major reason for that. If they manage to win the division for the first time in 10 years, it's going to be hard to not reward Canales with an NFL Coach of the Year trophy.