Panthers are in a better spot than their record suggests but the latest changes demand a greater sense of urgency in Carolina
The Carolina Panthers remain in first place in the NFC South coming out of Week 8 and recent changes made since Thursday night’s loss will elevate the level of urgency for this team.
Friday morning was a tough morning for Carolina Panthers fans. The team had suffered a second consecutive loss and the way the team lost to the Green Bay Packers made it seem like the season was about to fall apart after just eight weeks.
Now, it’s Monday morning and there’s a lot more reasons for optimism in Carolina. The Panthers, at 3-4, are still leading the NFC South race and necessary changes were made to finally spark a turnaround for this team, with potentially more to come.
The Panthers are in a better spot than their record suggests right now and head coach Dave Canales is hoping the recent moves will help elevate the sense of urgency inside the building this week.
Carolina Panthers are still in a solid spot despite the recent downswing
The big decision made in Carolina following Thursday night’s loss was the decision to move on from defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley. That was a difficult decision for Canales to make, but it was clear there was some disconnect and it was a decision that needed to be made sooner than it did.
“Just collecting a lot of information over the course of our time that really led to the decision,” Canales said Friday afternoon. “And ultimately, when I look at how many games we have in front of us, the position we’re at in the division, and really just wanted to get the most out of our guys and, and really making that decision, I take that responsibility very seriously as the head coach.”
With Evero out, Todd Wash will take over as the team’s interim defensive coordinator. Something to watch is whether or not the Panthers switch from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3 scheme under his watch. Regardless, he’s an experienced coordinator a someone Canales actually trusts on this staff. The Panthers also added DeAngelo Hall to the staff on Monday to help coach the cornerback room, which has been heavily depleted.
Now, one shouldn’t expect a coaching change to fix all of the issues. The Panthers had more issues than just Evero and his scheme. Injuries are still a major problem in Carolina and the Panthers have to figure things out up-front on offense.
That’s where things need to pick back up with the team coming back to the facility on Monday. Just take it one day at a time and strive to find the right recipe for improvement and make the other changes that need to be made.
“The urgency really just comes from myself, our staff, our expectations for our players, across the board,” Canales explained. “And so, nothing is more urgent than today. Nothing is more urgent than the Denver Broncos game coming up this week. And so, if we can keep that mentality, we keep the focus right in front of us, that allows us to just work on things that we can control, things that we can affect, and finding solutions for those things, and that’s a good enough amount of pressure to put. Because I understand the difficulty and challenge of what it is in this league. We have to be excellent at what we’re doing in our process, in our preparation, and how we show up for game day.”
This season is far from over, and this will be a pivotal game coming up to see how this team responds to the recent changes and the message Canales is sending. It’s a tough 6-2 team coming to town, but this isn’t a new situation for the Panthers under Canales’ watch.
“We have a staff that’s committed to doing things the right way, and I want them to feel that confidence in me,” Canales added. “They’re here so that we can take the next step together, as a group, and find solutions, and there’s a lot of urgency around this, and that’s where we need to be. It’s about this week, it’s about right now, and as we build this thing, it’s gonna take that whole crew, and it’s a group of guys that I really trust and that I’m counting on.”
