Bear Hands

Canales has been a guy NFL nerds have paid attention to for a bit — this is a promising hire. Of course, we are the Panthers and we shouldn’t inflate expectations, but it’s promising and a refreshing direction.

I’m excited for this. Overall expectations will remain tame given our history with Tepper but Canales has a ton of potential.

Checking out some of Seattle's online platforms, the greater media perception is Quinn or maybe Vrabel, but Slowik is definitely not being counted out there. Seems like a wildcard for them. Not much traction with them and Macdonald from what I found. Quinn+Kelly (fans are hating that idea) v. Vrabel v. Slowik. And with Belichick not being as heavily favored for ATL, Macdonald and Weaver become 2 of the frontrunners (ATL requested 2nd interviews w/them). They interviewed Vrabel this afternoon. Commanders are still pretty heavily presumed to be Ben Johnson's choice. Per Tom Pelissero, them and the Falcons are sending contingents to Detroit next week for second interviews. No word on us yet. So, adding it all up, it really does seem like this could be aligning with Macdonald v. Canales v. Evero with Vrabel as an outside shot. Same with Morris & Monken. Unless someone really comes out of left field.

I just hope whoever comes in has a clear & consistent vision. Not the preachy BS that Rhule spewed out with clueless college and over the hill NFL position coaches. Not the "let's grab every NFL lifer we can think of and bring them together to collaborate" approach under Reich. Not to mention, he was a rambler on the mic as well. Just a clear idea of what they want on defense, offense, the type of team they want, the type of culture they want to instill. Give us the well-defined, hard sh*t, not the fluff, not the disorganized chaos.

Yep that's been chatted about

I was thinking Vrabel made a lot sense in Seattle. Wouldn't hate it, but man, it would be nice to try an approach we've never done before.

Yeah him and Canales are the once I’ve around interesting outside of Johnson. Don’t really have much interest in Monken so that’s good to hear haha. Sounds like it’s still a bit open ended. Interesting to see what unfolds.

Tyler Lockett is also a likely cap casualty in Seattle who would be a great help. They know eachother intimately from his years with Baldwin as their WR coach.

I was afraid that would be the case when Ben Johnson backed out last year because our crop became very meh without Steichen interest. Didn't foresee the trainwreck that would ensure giving us a shot this year haha

I honestly don't see why Canales isn't viewed as more "flashy". Same goes for Macdonald. They are still young, have more experience than Slowik and Johnson, held steady in minimal spots, & have the bulk of their careers under great coaches (Both Harbaughs & Carroll). For nerdier football types, Canales has been getting hype for more than this year, longer than Slowik. It may boil down to some may only be excited about Shanahan tree ties, but that's not the end all/be all for where you can find a young gun. And honestly, Evero seems like a great potential coach. Morris is the one I think would give the most divisive reaction. His time as a HC was long ago, but not the best. But on the flipside, he's been in a great org with McVay, and had some GREAT rookie work this year in Byron Young and Kobie Turner. Both in the running for DROY. Monken is the only one that would make me raise an eyebrow.

Wonder if it could be Macdonald? One of the guys being interviewed everywhere that we had for round 1. Everyone and their grandma knows we've been interested in Ben Johnson, and that the Commanders are eyeing him, so there's not much to really dance around there. Any word on Macdonald from your end?

I imagine he would as he's employed by the Panthers

Florio notoriously despises Tepper. This is expected from him. Florio is to Tepper as JT O'Sullivan is to Thielen lol

Not that I enjoy hiring/firing coaches all the time, but it sure makes for an entertaining huddle experience haha.

Yes, No, maybe so

With the silence on the Ben Johnson & Mike Macdonald fronts, Evero, Canales and Morris seem to the remaining lot. Not seeing much on Quinn, Callahan is in TEN, the other Johnson is out, the rest don't seem to have traction. I'm still throwing my hat in the Canales ring.

Person has slowly been getting better over the years. Decent piece with some perspective. I'm going to be cautious given he was part of the bad, but I do think there's reasons to be hopeful with a restructure taking place, and hopefully Dan getting some new people in with him on the personnel side of things. Wonder if Adrian Wilson is staying.

That is true haha. All the Tepper hires that have turned out terribly were regarded.

Question: Are you planning to bring in any new staff on the scouting side of things or is that team remaining in place? If they’re staying, how do you improve moving forward considering the last 3 drafts?

I'm beginning to think Canales may be happening, which I would be excited about.

For sure

Still possible we land Tillis in that buffer role. A hope is that Morgan does have a bit of an eye and hires some new people to the scouting department.

Promoted from within from the staff that assembled the worst NFL roster in the 21st century

Would be excited for Canales. He seems like a promising dude

You MAYBE draft a QB late if you like a guy to have as a young backup. But you gotta see what Bryce looks like under a new staff. It is as simple as that. They’ll have year 1 to review, all of the offseason, camp, preseason, and through at least the first 8-10 games to know what they’ve got in him. You're not benching him for a vet early and you’re not getting anyone to compete in 2024. Anyone being realistic should know that’s not happening regardless of how much you disliked what you saw this season. Maybe we draft a guy late who could be a backup and come in if Dalton is indisposed. It’s Bryce in 2024, like it or not. He could be stored away come November, could be a mixed bag we are still unsure about come week 18, or maybe he overcomes it all and looks legit.