The Carolina Panthers hired Dave Canales to be their new head coach on Thursday, a move that surprised some people. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that the Panthers handed Canales a six-year contract, which is rare for a first-time NFL head coach to get.
Canales joins three other active head coaches who signed a six-year deal upon being hired, per Ari Meirov. Kyle Shanahan, Dan Campbell and DeMeco Ryans all received such contracts. Like Canales, they were all first-time head coaches.
This isn’t the first time the Panthers have dished out a lengthy contract for a new head coach. Carolina gave Matt Rhule a seven-year contract in 2020, only for him to last less than three years after compiling an 11-27 record.
A six-year deal should give a coach plenty of job security, but who's to say that Panthers owner David Tepper has changed his mindset? If given the same leash as Rhule, Canales has two or three years to prove he is the right long-term fit for Carolina.
Canales' predecessor, Frank Reich, wasn’t even given that as he was fired 11 games into his tenure with the Panthers.
Results matter in the end
The NFL is mostly a “what have you done for me lately” league, but some franchises are willing to have a few lean years if it means building the right culture and chemistry within the organization.
The San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions didn’t axe Shanahan and Campbell after slow starts to their tenures. The move paid off, as the Niners reached the Super Bowl in year three under Shanahan, while the Lions are in the NFC championship game in Campbell's third season in charge, ironically against the Niners.
Ryans led the Houston Texans to a 10-7 record and a playoff win in his first season as head coach.
The Panthers are hoping Dave Canales can match that or at the very least get Carolina on the same track as San Francisco and Detroit are with their head coaches. He might get his six years if he goes the Ryans' route and leads the Panthers to the playoffs in his first season.
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