'I thought Dave Canales did something very brave' Former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera praises important decision by Carolina
Dave Canales' first season as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers had plenty of ups-and-downs, but after going to 5-12 in 2024, the franchise has some momentum heading into 2025 thanks to an important decision that Canales made in Week 3 last year. Canales benched starting quarterback Bryce Young in favor of veteran Andy […]
Dave Canales' first season as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers had plenty of ups-and-downs, but after going to 5-12 in 2024, the franchise has some momentum heading into 2025 thanks to an important decision that Canales made in Week 3 last year.
Canales benched starting quarterback Bryce Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton after the Panthers scored just 13 points in the first two games of the season.
Young regained the starting job in Week 12 and he played significantly better throughout the rest of the season.
Former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera spoke to The Athletic this week about the latest happenings in Carolina and he praised Canales for making the "brave" decision to bench Young early in the season.
Rivera also praised Young for the way he handled the (brief) demotion.
"Coming into the season, I know their expectations and he didn’t start off strong," said Rivera to The Athletic. "I thought Dave Canales did something very brave, and that was he benched him. He did it for a couple of reasons. And one was it was early in the season and they still had a chance. I thought Andy Dalton came in and did a terrific job with the team. I thought Andy also did a great job of mentoring Bryce. And I think the conversation that coach Canales had with Bryce was probably about being positive, staying focused and being ready because you’re gonna get your chance again. And lo and behold, guess what? He got his chance.
"What was impressive about it was while he was sitting back as the backup, he really stayed engaged it looked like. He stayed involved with the team. He didn’t go sulk. And I thought that was a very important thing. I’ve really gotta give him credit for keeping himself engaged. When he got his opportunity again, he showed (out)."
Young's odd 2024 season is a reminder to fans and analysts that development for young players (especially quarterbacks) isn't always linear.
There are various factors that impact a player's success early in their career. And many of those factors are out of the player's control.
That was certainly true for Young, who landed in a situation in his rookie season with a shaky coaching staff that seemingly had no offensive direction.
We should see Young take a big step forward in year three (which will be his second season with Canales). This will be the first "normal" offseason of Young's career and there's continuity with the coaching staff. We haven't even come close to seeing the best of what Young has to offer as an NFL quarterback.
