David NewtonFeb 24, 2026, 07:01 PM
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales is surrendering playcalling duties to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, saying Tuesday that the change was made without pressure from general manager Dan Morgan or owner Dave Tepper.
"This is something that all of us collectively have talked about as an organization. It was my idea to come up with this," Canales said at the NFL scouting combine. "... [Idzik's] continuity with the system, his continuity with the players, being able to do that, I believe will be the best thing for us moving forward."
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As recently as his season-ending news conference, Canales had been emphatic that he would remain the playcaller.
On Tuesday, however, Canales said several factors went into the decision to make the change. He noted several times during the season that he was so involved on the offensive side of the ball that he wasn't able to interact with officials to take advantage of opportunities.
"There were quite a few moments,'' Canales said when asked if there was a specific time when he felt playcalling got in the way of him challenging a penalty. "To have conversations that way, making game management decisions ... You can imagine it's a challenge to call plays and do those things. I was accepting of that challenge.
"But it goes beyond that. It's also being able to affect and impact your players really live as guys come on and off the field -- to be able to connect with them, to see something I know fundamentally can help this player. Let's not wait until Monday."
Canales noted that giving Idzik total control of calling plays will allow him to broaden his ability to coach all aspects of the team.
"He's my primary architect for what we do offensively,'' Canales said. "I saw this as an opportunity to streamline the work that goes on during the week and then to have that come alive on game day.''
Canales also admitted putting his ego aside was a factor since many of the coaches he idolized also called plays.
"It was a big part of it,'' Canales said. "And just thinking about wanting to make sure I'm doing the right thing for the team, first and foremost. It certainly was something that I looked at. It gives me such a huge level of respect for the guys that have been successful doing this -- this model of being the playcaller on offense or defense and also being the head coach and interacting with the different things that come across your desk on a daily basis."
Canales said the change played into the recent hire of Darrell Bevell as an associate head coach and offensive assistant. Bevell has experience calling plays with several different teams during the past 25 years, including Seattle, where he and Canales first met.
For Idzik, this will be his first opportunity to call plays in a regular-season game. He called some plays in preseason games during his first two seasons.
But Canales expressed complete confidence in Idzik, even though he knows there will be some nervous moments like he felt in September of 2023 when he called his first regular-season game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and coach Todd Bowles.
"I think Todd could sense that I was pretty nervous,'' Canales said. "He came over and just said 'let it rip' and gave me confidence to just call what I studied and trusted.''
Canales added quarterback Bryce Young was kept aware of his decision and the "vision of what I hope will come.''
But he reiterated the decision to give up playcalling was his, something Morgan supported but never suggested.
"That's not me,'' Morgan said. "His decisions are his. ... Coach thought through the whole evaluation process. Coach wanted to kind of take a step back and be a head coach where he's able to have a say on both sides of the ball."