The NHL’s Florida Panthers and NFL’s Carolina Panthers came into existence around the same time—the teams began play in 1993 and 1995, respectively—but they sit at opposite ends of the success spectrum in 2024.
The hockey Panthers, after Saturday’s Game 1 victory, are three wins away from their first Stanley Cup title. The football Panthers are licking their wounds after a 2–15 season, their worst since going 1–15 in 2001.
However, differences in fortunes have never stopped some sports fans from mistaking the two teams for each other. It happened again Saturday in Los Angeles, when KABC-TV put up a graphic depicting the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Panthers meeting in the Stanley Cup finals.
KABC in Los Angeles was getting viewers ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and — Carolina Panthers? pic.twitter.com/asevhg8ZmC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2024
Credit to the anchor here for proceeding as if nothing was amiss—gamely avoiding the urge to throw whoever handled the graphic under the bus.
Interestingly, the Oilers’ last trip to the Stanley Cup finals saw them meet the Carolina Hurricanes, to whom they lost the 2006 championship series four games to three.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might have had the quietest offseason among the teams in the NFC South, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the reigning division champions are on the decline.
The Buccaneers could make it four consecutive division titles after retaining their key in-house free agents, including Mike Evans and Baker Mayfield. But the Atlanta Falcons, who had a fast start to the offseason, could be on the rise with the free-agent addition of Kirk Cousins.
The Falcons were viewed as clear favorites in the NFC South after adding Cousins to an offense that included Bijan Robison, Drake London and Kyle Pitts. But the gap might have closed after they used a first-round pick on quarterback Michael Penix Jr., while their divisional rivals strengthened their respective rosters with top picks that weren’t used on signal-callers.
The New Orleans Saints drafted a quarterback (Spencer Rattler in the fifth round), but used their first-round pick on offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga to help Derek Carr.
The Carolina Panthers also prioritized their offseason to assist quarterback Bryce Young, but they still have a long way to go to catch up to the rest of the pack.
Here are grades and analysis for how the NFC South teams did this offseason.
Mayfield turned his career around in Tampa Bay, making his first career Pro Bowl.
Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Offseason grade: B
Key additions: C Graham Barton, Edge Chris Braswell, OG Ben Bredeson, Edge Randy Gregory, S Jordan Whitehead
Key subtractions: CB Carlton Davis III, LB Devin White
Analysis: The Buccaneers avoided offseason splash moves and prioritized their core group, one that surprised in 2023 with Mayfield’s resurgence. Tampa Bay should again contend for the NFC South title after retaining Evans, Mayfield and safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who was hit with the franchise tag. Evans and Mayfield gained long-term extensions after helping the Buccaneers advance to the divisional round.
It’s not the flashiest roster, but the Buccaneers have talent throughout and continue to improve the offensive and defensive lines. Tom Brady might be jealous of the offensive line the Buccaneers have built for Mayfield over the past two seasons. Tampa Bay selected Graham Barton, possibly the best center in the draft, to join a group that made strides last season after failing to protect Brady in 2022.
The Buccaneers, however, took a risk handing Mayfield a three-year extension worth up to $115 million after one dynamic season in Tampa Bay. Mayfield, the former top pick of the Cleveland Browns, will also be without Dave Canales, the offensive coordinator who became the Panthers’ coach in the offseason. But the Buccaneers made many savvy moves to ensure Mayfield’s ’23 season wasn’t a fluke.
Key subtractions: RB Cordarrelle Patterson, QB Desmond Ridder, TE Jonnu Smith
Analysis: The Falcons quickly went from being NFC South favorites with Cousins to a team with quarterback concerns following the first-round selection of Penix. Not only did the Falcons create an awkward scenario, they failed to improve the 2024 squad by using their No. 8 pick on a player who might not play for a few seasons. Had the Falcons gone with the best player available, perhaps they would have gotten an A grade for the offseason and be viewed as NFC South favorites for longer than a month.
But the Falcons could still have the best team in the division if Cousins makes a full recovery from the torn Achilles he sustained last season with the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins will get to work with coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, two former Los Angeles Rams assistant coaches who had plenty of success under Sean McVay. With the Falcons having talented skill players, perhaps Cousins and a new coaching staff were the final pieces for Atlanta to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2017. But they might have been viewed as Super Bowl contenders had they drafted one of the top edge rushers in the draft instead of Penix. Maybe Penix gets an opportunity to start a game or two in 2024 to impress and quiet the critics.
New Orleans Saints
Offseason grade: B-
Key additions: OL Taliese Fuaga, LB Willie Gay Jr., CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, QB Spencer Rattler, WR Cedrick Wilson Jr., Edge Chase Young
Key subtractions: S Marcus Maye, OG Andrus Peat, WR Michael Thomas, QB Jameis Winston
Analysis: With a veteran-filled roster, New Orleans balanced the present and the future after saying goodbye to key players and hello to prominent rookies. The Saints are far removed from the days of Drew Brees and Sean Payton, but they neglected the full rebuild route the past three seasons and missed the postseason every year in that span. The organization seems to have finally adjusted after parting with Michael Thomas, Marcus Maye and Andrus Peat. The moves they made provided some cap space flexibility for the Saints, something they haven’t had much of in recent years.
For the most part, the 2024 Saints should have a similar look to last season heading into Year 2 with Carr as the starting quarterback. Carr had mixed results in his first season in New Orleans, but played well in the final month and should have better protection with the arrival of Fuaga, a rugged run blocker who can play tackle and guard. But the Saints might be making a mistake by relying on Trevor Penning and Ryan Ramczyk as the starting tackles again. Penning has struggled since being a 2022 first-round pick and Ramczyk has dealt with injuries. If Carr gets time to operate, he’ll have Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed to hurt defenses downfield.
Young, the No. 2 pick of the 2020 draft, will be on his third team in five seasons.
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
On defense, the team took a chance on Chase Young, who had a rocky 2023 season after being traded by the Commanders to the 49ers. But the move could pay off, with veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan needing help. New Orleans could have a foundational piece in second-round cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.
Carolina Panthers
Offseason grade: C+
Key additions: RB Jonathon Brooks, Edge K’Lavon Chaisson, Edge Jadeveon Clowney, S Jordan Fuller, OG Robert Hunt, WR Diontae Johnson,LB Josey Jewell, WR Xavier Legette, OG Damien Lewis, Edge D.J. Wonnum
Key subtractions: S Vonn Bell, Edge Brian Burns, S Jeremy Chinn, Edge Yetur Gross-Matos, CB Donte Jackson, LB Frankie Luvu
Analysis: Let’s get the bad out of the way because there have been plenty of offseason positives for the worst team in the NFL last year. The Panthers’ rebuild project took a hit after they elected to trade Brian Burns to the New York Giants for two draft picks, neither in the first round. It’s been well documented that the Panthers had the opportunity to trade Burns in 2022 for multiple first-round picks. With that in mind, it was strange that the Panthers didn’t just keep Burns on the roster to continue building the defense with stud defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who cashed in this offseason with a lucrative contract extension.
The Panthers also spent money on the offensive side to assist Young, the 2023 No. 1 pick coming off a rough rookie season. Perhaps no offseason acquisition was more important than the hiring of Canales, the offensive guru who helped reignite the careers of Mayfield and Geno Smith. The Panthers added weapons and protection for Young, including the splash signing of guard Robert Hunt, whom the team might have overpaid for with a monster five-year, $100 million contract. Veteran wideout Adam Thielen won’t have to carry the team like he did last season, with the trade for Diontae Johnson and first-round selection of Xavier Legette. Also, the Panthers improved the poor ground game by using a second-round pick for running back Jonathon Brooks.
Offensively, the Panthers might have done enough this offseason to gain positive results from Young in Year 2. The defense, however, might not be able to replace the production of Burns. Newcomer veterans Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum will need to step up to help Brown and the rest of the defense.
Last weekend, new coach Dave Canales, GM Dan Morgan and the Panthers’ staff made the short trip to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, getting a look behind the scenes of the race with the Hendrick Motorsports team.
Right after the draft, much of the same group went to the Kenny Chesney concert at the stadium as well. Before that, there was a Topgolf outing. Right after everyone was hired, they had a staff dinner at Steak 48 in the suburbs. And they even had one of these nights, at the Triple A Charlotte Knights game, when Canales couldn’t make it—he happened to be tied up with family in Tampa.
All of this, of course, is intentional, and much more than a series of meet-and-greets.
“It’s really important,” Canales said over the phone Thursday. “One of the things that I’ve learned along the way is, you got to have high ground for hard days. I know that hard days will come in the season, just because of the nature of the business and the work that’s required. If we spend time together, we’re able to weather those storms together. We’re able to talk to each other. We’ve got history with each other beyond just being in the office.
“Those things are really important—the relationship part comes first.”
So the first thing has come first, and the truth is Canales would probably approach things like this regardless of where he landed his first head coaching gig. It just so happens that his team needs what he brings more than just about any of the other 31 teams would have.
Consider being a Panthers player over the past few years. You’re now, if you include the interims, on your fifth head coach in less than two years. You watched your franchise trade away arguably its three best players: Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore and Brian Burns. The Panthers have changed out offensive coordinators like swing tackles over the last half decade. The front office has been restructured. The owner’s been colorful, to put it kindly.
No matter how you slice it, these guys have been through a lot.
And, now, here comes Canales, 43 years old and ready to take over the NFL’s worst team, and force feed it positivity by the mouthful. You don’t do that, of course, by looking back at the 2–15 record, or the six-year playoff drought that encapsulates Tepper’s stewardship of the franchise. Canales is doing it with his eyes fixed forward, in a place that badly needs to put the past behind it.
Welcome in to our first column of June, with vacation for everyone right around the corner. In this week’s takeaways, we’ll give you a look at …
• The rush of receiver deals getting done before Justin Jefferson gets his.
• How the Rams are valuing every minute of training camp.
• Why the NFLPA’s proposed changes are so uniformly despised among coaches and scouts.
But we’re starting at the bottom, with a Panthers team clawing to climb out of that hole with a coach who is doing all he can to turn the page for the franchise.
When Panthers GM Dan Morgan started as a scout, as a Seahawks intern in the summer of 2010, Canales had been working there as a quality-control coach for less than five months. The two were green and learning—Morgan fresh off his playing career and Canales having come with Pete Carroll from USC, where he served as a strength coach.
To say their current circumstances were a long way off would be like saying California is a long drive from New York.
“I’d be lying if I said I envisioned this,” Morgan says. “It wasn’t because I didn’t think he could ever be a head coach. I think the time that I was out in Seattle, we were both so young and so green at our jobs that you never think about that. I was a pro scout that was trying to become the assistant pro director. He was the quality-control coach that was trying to be a receiver coach. I think that’s the cool part about it.
“You never know how things will work out. It just so happened that the stars aligned.”
With the benefit of hindsight, both guys can see why.
Working with Carroll and GM John Schneider gave the young coach and scout some perspective on a different way winning in the NFL could happen. Morgan admired how Carroll could build a cohesive program with an authentic positivity that put a shine on a demanding, competitive environment. And even then, with Canales just down the hall from him, Morgan started to see some Carroll traits in Canales.
“He’s like a young Pete in a lot of ways,” continues Morgan. “He’s enthusiastic every single day about his job and makes everyone around him better just because of the energy that he brings and his love for football. It’s really contagious and really similar to how Pete was.”
Accordingly, seeing Carroll succeed weaponized the positivity that Canales always had inside of him. So instead of trying to carry himself the way others expect a football coach to, he got to see that being himself would be enough.
“It validates people like us,” Canales says of watching Carroll. “We’re just a certain type of way. A lot of people have different dispositions, and a lot of them have been successful and it works for them. I think it’s just about being really who you are. I’m just genuinely sunny and happy to be here. I love just connecting with people. Pete has a lot of those qualities. For me, it was just freeing. It’s freeing to know that this model works, too.
“You don’t have to try to be a certain way just because football may say this should be a really gruff type of person and deliver harsh words and all those things and it’s like, Hey, I know that works for people. I’m not doubting that at all. It’s just … that hasn’t worked for me.”
Perhaps his lack of sharp elbows slowed his rise through the ranks—he stuck in Seattle for 13 seasons, going from QC to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2013 to receivers coach in ’15 to quarterbacks coach in ’18 and pass-game coordinator in ’20. He finally got his shot to call his own offense in Tampa, but along the way his approach left its mark.
And in particular, his positive approach worked with quarterbacking resurrections he helped guide, first with Geno Smith in Seattle, then Baker Mayfield in Tampa, to give those franchises soft landings in detaching from the Russell Wilson and Tom Brady eras.
“What I love is to be a part of a great story,” he says. “Geno Smith’s story, I just remember Geno talking. We were together for a couple years before he got his opportunity. I remember Geno having it like he was in a place of frustration, but not with anybody or any situation, just that he wanted to have one more chance. He would just say, When I get my shot again, if I ever get my chance again … I think I can get this done. …
“And then thinking about the resilience of Baker, who really bounced around—three different teams the year before I got him in Tampa—and to see him come in with such an openness, a humility, a hunger, but a hunger that wasn’t driven by negative forces. It wasn’t like, I’m gonna prove it to everybody. It was more like, I’m gonna prove it to myself. I know who I am, I know what I can do.”
So now, after getting players, or groups, out of ruts, he’ll try to do it for a whole franchise. And Morgan gets to see those Carroll-like qualities Canales flashed on another level.
Canales politely cut me off at the pass when I asked about the scar tissue that guys such as Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn and Ickey Ekwonu, high-end talents drafted over the past few years, have built up after what they’ve seen in Carolina.
It’s not irrelevant, of course. But Canales doesn’t think it should be front of mind, either.
So where he started to dig in with his team was something incredibly simple.
“Just today—it was just today,” he says. “The first time I got to talk to the team, the focus was just on that. Today, we’re introducing the fundamentals of the Panthers’ offense. And Panthers defense, you guys have heard these terms, except for the new players. The focus goes forward. The focus isn’t about the past. The focus is, Where are we headed? Let’s just get our football right.”
By any measure, and Canales and his staff know this, the Panthers had a long way to go in that regard when they arrived. The roster had been stripped down over the past couple of years, with draft picks taking the place of established stars. Some of those picks worked out (Brown, notably), others didn’t. But the trend lines laid the truth bare—seven, five, five, five, seven and two wins in the past six seasons, and a minus-180 point differential in 2023.
The first job in digging out is, as Canales alluded to, getting guys’ minds in the right places.
To do that, the coach has established what he’s looking for, and, yes, all the buzz words are in play here. Effort. Enthusiasm. Toughness. Showing that toughness through the running game on offense. Playing together and full throttle on defense and special teams. Exhibiting football IQ in situational play. All of it.
And Canales had an interesting way of showing what he wants (and what he doesn’t want—“the catastrophic plays”) on tape. Yes, he showed the coaches’ tape. But he also gave his players plenty of the TV copy, and did so with a purpose.
“You get so much information,” he says. “You can actually see the amount of time on the bottom of the screen. You can see the actual seconds that are happening during a play, say, in a two-minute drill or in four-minute. You can see some of the high-definition, zoomed-in, one-on-one shots of players getting great technique. It’s a really cool tool. … It really engages players. I like to mix that into what we do as well; it’s not just the all-22.”
That, of course, flows into the second task, which is finding a way to reach guys already on the roster, draft picks left over from Matt Rhule, Frank Reich and Scott Fitterer, and try to get more out of them.
For his part, Canales swears he didn’t inherit something that was completely broken. There is talent on hand, he thinks, and, just as important, a lot of the right types of people.
“Initially, without adding anybody, what I found was a core group of guys that are really hard working and that really have a great way of creating a locker room environment,” Canales says. “That’s pretty cool to be in. These are tough guys. These are guys that love being here. They love being in the weight room. They get along great. They’re playful with each other. I think it all starts off with this blue-collar toughness to the guys that I love.
“I love seeing it. The people that we’re adding, we’re just saying, Hey, look, we already have this part of a dynamic happening. If you’re not sure how to be, watch these guys. It’s our Derrick Browns. It’s our Shaq Thompsons. It’s Austin Corbett, it’s Chuba Hubbard, it’s Tommy Tremble. … Really, a great core group of guys.”
Then, there’s the quarterback.
How Young plays in his second season will go a long way in determining whether the Panthers can turn around quickly. / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Panthers can talk about the other stuff until they’re some shade of blue in the face.
They know, really, a lot of this boils down to the fate of Bryce Young. Morgan was a part of trading up for and drafting him in 2023. Canales was hired, in large part, to get him turned around. And last year’s results, especially when juxtaposed against the guy drafted right behind him, C.J. Stroud, weren’t great. Young posted an anemic 73.7 passer rating, averaged a paltry 5.5 yards per attempt (worse than Bailey Zappe and Tyson Bagent), failed to hit 3,000 yards or complete 60% of his passes, and threw for 11 touchdowns against 10 picks.
So Canales knew after taking the job that he’d have to be in the weeds with Young from the beginning, and that started with a pair of dinners with the quarterback, so he’d have a chance to get to know what made him tick. He went in with a baseline of knowledge from inside the Panthers’ building, and also his connections in Southern California, where both Canales and Young are from. He knew character had never been a problem. Those dinners showed why.
Young came off as a guy who’d make it or die trying.
“He’s curious, and he really challenges himself,” Canales says. “He challenges himself to be great. He’s not satisfied with technique. He works on it to master it. He’s very methodical in how he goes about his studying, wants to know what’s happening with the routes, wants to hear the information. I love the curiosity that he brings to his work every day, and he’s got a patience about him too. He’s open to trying stuff.”
Taking it on the field confirmed something else research told Canales about Young—that he’s deadly accurate. “I really don’t have to spend a lot of time looking to where the ball goes because it’s usually right on the money, in stride,” Canales continues. “So I get to just focus on his base, focus on his footwork, where your eyes are at and those things.”
And as they’re doing that, and teaching Young to be more effective from under center, it’s obvious to the staff that the quarterback is not just accurate thanks to his prodigious arm talent, it’s also thanks to his knack for grasping the why of a play, putting him a step ahead.
Of course, Young, like everyone else, is in shorts now, and has plenty left to prove when that changes. That makes the good start he’s had with Canales just that: a start.
“He’s got a great foundation to build off,” the coach says. “Now it’s just a matter of throwing the core of what we’re doing at him and then seeing what things he looks most rhythmic with and most comfortable with so we can continue to try to find an identity for who we’re going to be."
With the overarching idea being if that means Young takes a big step, the Panthers will, too.
Morgan knows how the past few years have been in Carolina. Hired by his old Seahawks colleague Fitterer in May 2021, the former Pro Bowl linebacker returned to where he played seven seasons. He’s been witness to, and a party to, all that’s gone wrong in the franchise over the past three seasons.
He’s seen misery, so he’ll be first to echo Canales in reiterating that making Carolina the kind of place where NFL folks, both players and staff, want to work is Job No. 1.
“It is definitely something that we talked about from the jump,” Morgan says. “As soon as we got the job, we talked before that, but when he got the job, we wanted to make this a place that, whether it’s people in the building, in the front office or on the business side, and obviously the players and the staff, we just wanted them to be excited to get up in the morning and come to work.
“It was going to be a positive environment where you could reach your goals, reach your full potential and just have fun, whether it’s playing or just doing your job.”
So the trips like the ones to Topgolf, NASCAR and Chesney, and dinners like the outing to Steak 48 will keep going—Canales’s rule is to have at least one of those per month.
All the same, he plans on living that promise day-to-day too.
“Hopefully, they can feel the love and respect that I have for them,” the coach says. “Hopefully we’re able to reciprocate that across the board to each other. It’s just that inside-out thought process. If we treat each other well, then we’ll treat our players well. And this whole building, we all just have this love and respect mentality where we’re here pulling in the same direction. Those are the things that are important to me.
“Hopefully, they’ve been able to feel that this offseason.”
Safe to say that everyone in Carolina has. Whether they’ll still be excited to come to work in December and January, of course, remains to be seen.
For now, Canales is just happy to give his guys the best chance he can to get there.
The NFL offseason continues on but with teams gearing up for next season we have odds for who will make the postseason.
One of the most hotly contested divisions in the 2024 season is the NFC East, which features the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles made a splash in free agency by adding running back Saquon Barkley as well as hiring former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Can the Eagles hold off the Cowboys in hopes of getting back on top of the division and make the postseason?
There will be plenty of heated races in the postseason in addition to the NFC East one mentioned above, including a crowded group in the AFC East and AFC North.
Below you will find the odds for each team to make the postseason in 2024.
There are a ton of quality teams heading into the season with the postseason in its sights.
Look at the AFC East, who have three teams projected to make the postseason in terms of implied probability greater than 50%. The Dolphins have an implied probability of 57.38%, the Bills are 62.69% and the Jets are slightly ahead, listed at 62.96%.
Elsewhere, the AFC North has three teams with heavy odds to contend for the postseason, with its longest shot, the Steelers at only +190 (34.48%). The Ravens (72.60%), Bengals (70.15%) and Browns (42.37%) all have more than a puncher's chance to make the postseason.
The NFC East race is for the division, but both are expected to make the postseason in a much weaker conference, will the two be able to hold up? The Eagles and Cowboys each have mandates to win and better hope to at least make the postseason in order to keep the status quo.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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