CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You see and hear the influence of coach Pete Carroll on Dave Canales at every turn as the second-year Carolina Panthers head coach prepares to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday with huge playoff implications.
«It’s GREAT to be back on the grass.»
«Tell the Truth Monday told us a lot.»
«It was Focus Friday, and loved what I saw.»
These are expressions the 74-year-old Carroll used with an energy that was second-to-none during his 14 years as the head coach of the Seahawks and now with the Las Vegas Raiders.
They also are expressions Canales, who spent 13 seasons as an assistant under Carroll in Seattle and another at the University of Southern California, uses daily.
The Carroll influence on Canales takes center stage as the Panthers (8-7) prepare to face the NFC West-leading Seahawks (12-3) with a chance to claim the NFC South title if they win and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) lose to the Miami Dolphins.
«Listening to Pete and listening to Dave, it really is the same,» said one NFL executive who worked with both. «It’s all copy and paste. You make it your own, but it’s all copy and paste.»
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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And for a young coach, imitating one of the NFL’s best made sense for Canales.
«It’s what’s at our core: taking care of the ball, the run game, toughness, all of our play styles, things that we talk about,» the 44-year-old Canales said. «It was such a consistent message from Coach [Carroll] over the years. … That’s when it became really powerful.
«So I try to emulate that as much as possible.»
There is nobody Canales called more for advice when the Panthers went 5-12 last season, his first as a head coach. That has turned more to texting this season with Carroll back in coaching, working to rebuild the Raiders.
«Just the constant reminders to believe, the constant reminders to prove to the guys what we can do when we play really good football,» Canales said of Carroll’s advice to him. «That message has stayed consistent, especially in those times last year, right in the middle of the season trying to find wins, and knowing how to celebrate victories when they came.»
David Moore, who played four years for Carroll in Seattle and then followed Canales to Tampa Bay and now Carolina.
Moore laughed at the expressions both use, particularly being happy to be back on the grass even when the weather is miserable.
«They both try to make us happy as well as get us outside and keep the day going good,» he said with a laugh.
When Canales was hired by Carolina, his mission was to turn around a franchise that hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2017. It was similar to Carroll’s challenge when he joined the Seahawks in 2010 after they went 5-11 and 4-12 the previous two seasons.
Carroll led Seattle to the playoffs in his first season with a 7-9 record in a weak NFC West, similar to what Canales is trying to do in the NFC South. By Carroll’s third season, the Seahawks won the division with an 11-5 record led by an undersize quarterback in Russell Wilson (5-11). By his fourth they went 13-3 and won the Super Bowl.
Canales inherited an undersize quarterback in Bryce Young (5-10) and has turned him around after a disastrous first two seasons. Young is 8-6 as the starter in 2025 after going 6-22 in 2023 and 2024.
«To see how far they’ve come so fast,» Carroll said. «It was hard on him last year. What they put together on the defense this year has really turned this thing around.»
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Panthers general manager Dan Morgan, who spent eight seasons in Seattle under Carroll and general manager John Schneider, sees a lot of Carroll in Canales every day.
«The same high energy, optimistic,» he said. «He really just kind of breathes life into the players … makes them feel they really can accomplish anything.»
The Canales-Carroll comparisons go on and on, down to Canales warming up with players during their pre-practice routine.
«Pete’s always out there wearing gloves and running through pads, stuff a normal coach really wouldn’t do,» Morgan said. «Dave doesn’t throw the football around with the guys, but he’s always out there stretching with them, things a normal coach wouldn’t do.»
Both coaches focus on competition, whether it’s on the field or in the team meeting room, where Canales added a basketball hoop.
«Where he really shines is creating culture and an environment in the building and the sense of competition and having games,» Canales said of Carroll. «Always trying to push the staff to find an edge to make the guys like, ‘If we’re going to do this and work so hard, let’s at least make it fun.»’
Canales’ connection with Carroll began in the mid-2000s when he began working summer camps for Carroll at USC. That led to a year under Carroll as the Trojans’ assistant strength coach before he followed Carroll to Seattle.
Carroll remembers the initial energy he felt from Canales. He saw that energy last season despite Carolina’s struggles and Young’s benching after an 0-2 start.
«He’s done a marvelous job with the quarterback,» Carroll said. «To get him to play so well and with confidence and leading, [being] the playmaker. … That’s why they drafted him. A lot of credit goes to Dave and his staff.»
Canales’ experience with quarterbacks began at Seattle under Carroll. As an assistant, he helped Wilson throw a career-high 40 touchdown passes in 2020 and Geno Smith resurrect his career in 2022.
That carried over to Tampa Bay, where Canales helped resurrect Baker Mayfield’s career, and now with Young in Carolina.
Morgan believes that comes from the positive energy Canales exudes, just like his mentor.
«Both prioritize high energy, optimism and the empowerment of players,» Morgan said. «They both make guys feel they can accomplish anything … just making them feel like he’s invested.»
Canales has gotten the Panthers to believe they can accomplish anything, down to making the playoffs and being a viable contender if they get there.
«Not only does he make the players feel like we’re headed in the right direction, with the right culture, it’s just the way he walks in the building and treats everybody the same,» Morgan said.
But which coach brings more energy?
«Oh, definitely Pete,» Canales said. «That kind of energy is infectious.»
Carroll said what Canales has done is «a good indication for the future» of the Carolina organization.
And whatever influence Carroll has had, he gives Canales all the credit.
«He’s put his own mark on it, his own voice behind it,» Carroll said. «To find success this late in the year, it’s really awesome.»
