How coach Dave Canales is keeping 1-4 Panthers positive

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The sign outside of Dilworth Neighborhood Grille about a mile from Bank of America Stadium, home of the 1-4 Carolina Panthers, earlier this week read: "CAN'T FIX 6 YEARS OF BAD DECISIONS QUICKLY."

This is the same establishment that Panthers owner David Tepper visited in April before the NFL draft to protest another sign that took a shot at him.

The latest message and empty seats in the stadium are among many signs of frustration growing within the fan base, as the Panthers appear headed for a seventh straight losing season.

But there's one place you don't see frustration. That's in first-year NFL head coach Dave Canales.

His upbeat personality has resonated throughout BOA and kept players -- at least thus far -- hopeful, despite mounting injuries and uncertainty about the future at quarterback since Bryce Youngwas benched.

"Honestly, I've probably never met anybody so positive in my life," running back Chuba Hubbard said. "So even when things may not be going our way, he just reminds us to trust the process, keep doing what you do, and it'll all come together."

Canales is upbeat by nature. He's not worried about being fired like his friend Robert Saleh was Tuesday by the New York Jets. And there are no indications Tepper is thinking about making an in-season change for the third straight year.

"It's challenging," Canales said of the lack of success. "It's hard on all of us. I have to be sensitive to that part of it because they want to win. We all want to win right now.

"But if we can start it off with attitude, we can start it off with effort, the things that we can control, then we can continue to grow our football."

Canales' ability to stay positive was reinforced last season when he was the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a streak of six losses in seven games.

Panthers wide receiver David Moore, who was with Canales in Tampa Bay and previously with the Seattle Seahawks, understands.

"You could feel it when he walked in the door," he said. "The message is it happens over time. You never know when that game comes and things start falling into place."

That happened in Week 13 last season, when the Bucs beat the Panthers 21-18 to begin a streak of four straight wins and five out of six to win the NFC South for the third straight season.

"That's the message," left tackle Ikem Ekwonu said. "You're always a step away. That's the message that we've been following."

Canales' positive attitude was one reason he was hired after a 2023 season that began 1-10 under Frank Reich in which there was little positivity. It's being tested because things are again dire for Carolina.

Heading into Sunday's game against the NFC South-leading 3-2Atlanta Falcons (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox), the defense is down four starters, and the team's best pass rusher, Jadeveon Clowney, is dealing with a shoulder injury.

The offense will be without starting center Austin Corbett (biceps) for the season, and right tackle Taylor Moton already has been ruled out for the Falcons game with a triceps injury.

Statistically, the numbers are dismal. The defense ranks 32ndin points allowed per game (33.0), 28thin net yards allowed (371.2 ), 27thin rushing yards allowed (144.6), 29thin total sacks (6) and 29thin third-down efficiency (46.9 %).

Offensively, the team ranks 25thin total yards per game (291), 29thin scoring (16.6 PPG.) and third-down efficiency (28.3 %).

It's not all that different from the numbers the Buccaneers had during last season's skid. During that streak, they ranked 31stin yards allowed per game (389.6), 31stin passing yards allowed (293), 24thin total yards per game (305.6) and 23rdin scoring (18.3 PPG.).

The bright spot for Carolina that Canales didn't have in Tampa is Hubbard and the run game that is his foundation offensively. Hubbard ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing yards (393), with 315 coming in the past three games, aka since Andy Dalton took over for Young as the starting quarterback.

The common denominator between Tampa Bay and Carolina that gives Canales hope is effort.

"They're playing hard," Canales said. "As long as we have that mentality and that attitude, I know that we're together."

Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik isn't surprised players are buying into Canales' positivity. He saw it last season when he was the wide receivers coach at Tampa Bay and previously when they were with Seattle.

"What a lot of guys will get stuck up on is when you go with ebbs and flows of a season and you try to interject false positivity, or you try to get energetic at certain times and you're not at others," he said.

"For Dave, it's just the same approach every day. It shows the guys that's genuine."

That, Idzik added, keeps players from going to the "dark place" that often accompanies losing.

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who also was in that role last season and interviewed for the job Canales got, agreed.

"I've got to give a lot of credit to Coach Canales," he said. "The ups and downs, he's been the same guy every day. The guys embrace that."

It's similar to how the Panthers embraced the positivity coach Dom Capers embodied nearly 30 years ago during Carolina's first season. Then-general manager Bill Polian claimed that's what enabled the Panthers to win seven of their last 11 games after an 0-5 start and reach the NFC Championship Game the following year.

"I understand that as you build your system ... it takes time to get really polished at what you're doing," Canales said of what he learned from last season's losing streak in Tampa. "It definitely tests your discipline, the mental discipline and fortitude to go right back to work and keep taking steps.

"That's the greatest challenge that we have is to keep trying to take those steps."