For the floundering Carolina Panthers, general manager Dan Morgan and new coach Dave Canales are looking for a winning recipe.
AP CHARLOTTE, N.C. During their inaugural press conference on Thursday, general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales of the New Carolina Panthers exuded passion and energy.
The crucial query at hand is: can they deliver victories?
They will be taking over a Panthers club that finished with a 2-15 record and hasn’t made it to the playoffs since owner David Tepper bought the franchise in 2018. It won’t be an easy feat.
During that time, Carolina had a 31-68 record, which is tied for the poorest record in the league with the New York Jets.
Canales claimed that his victory was “part of my timeline.” “First and ten, with a fresh set of downs and my whole call sheet at my disposal — with a ton of amazing folks with whom to go to work today.”
After playing linebacker for the Panthers for seven seasons, Morgan was elevated to the position of general manager and director of football operations, taking Scott Fitterer’s job.
He asserted that staff members should be at the forefront of the shift in Carolina culture.
Morgan stated, “We want teams to be afraid of that (Panthers) logo as they approach this stadium.” “Our logo has to inspire dread once more, since it does not at the moment. Thus, we must retrieve it.
Finding some “dogs” is the first step, according to Morgan, who gave numerous past Panthers players as examples.
“We want guys that play with a chip on their shoulder, like Steve Smith, who doesn’t back down and doesn’t take no prisoners. That kind of individual is what we need,” Morgan remarked. And the guts and perseverance of players who make plays, like Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. Playwrights are what we need. And we need rivals like Jake Delhomme—people who will compete in all they do and won’t give up until they succeed.”
Morgan went on to say he is looking for players who would “inflict pain on their opponents” and who are “hungry.”
Tepper, who has come under fire for trying to control every aspect of the football process, is prepared to Step back a bit.
At the press conference, he presented Canales and Morgan and did not accept questions. In response to a follow-up question on whether he would think about doing interviews, Tepper said, “No, I’m in the background now.”
When it comes to hiring choices, Morgan did not disclose to Canales who will have the last word, only saying that “it’s about constant communication and being aligned in everything that we do.”
Canales took over in order to maximize the potential of quarterback Bryce Young, the first overall choice of the previous season, who had a difficult rookie year with almost as many interceptions (10) as touchdown passes (11).
Canales believes the 5-foot-10 1/2 Young has the makings of a great quarterback since he had success dealing with smaller quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay and Russell Wilson in Seattle.
