Dave Canales‘ work as the Buccaneers’ offensive play-caller in 2023 provided a springboard to a head coaching opportunity. The Panthers hired Canales after only one season of OC experience, and he has called plays throughout his Carolina tenure.
That will change in 2026. In a rather interesting development, the third-year HC confirmed OC Brad Idzik would serve as Carolina’s 2026 play-caller. This will be the first such assignment for the 34-year-old coordinator, who came to Charlotte along with Canales in 2024.
Idzik joins Canales in being an ex-Pete Carroll Seahawks staffer. He worked as a quality control assistant and assistant wide receivers coach (under Canales, the team’s WRs coach for much of his tenure) in Seattle. After Canales landed the Bucs’ OC gig, Idzik became Tampa Bay’s receivers coach. Following two years in a non-play-calling role, Idzik will receive a promotion of sorts.
Unlike HC carousel mainstay Ejiro Evero, no interviews have come Idzik’s way since he arrived in Charlotte. The Panthers are also coming off an inconsistent year on offense, ranking 27th in scoring.
This is an interesting decision from Canales, and it certainly suggests confidence he will be the coach beyond 2026. David Tepper has been known as a rather impulsive owner; he fired Matt Rhule less than 2 1/2 years into a seven-year contract and canned Frank Reich after 11 games. Tepper headlines have died down since the Reich ouster, but Canales taking his hands off the wheel after a playoff season is a bit unexpected.
The son of former Jets GM John Idzik, Brad Idzik will have more say in Bryce Young‘s development in 2026. The Panthers are expected to pick up Young’s fifth-year option, buying them time. Like the Texans and C.J. Stroud, though, an extension does not appear forthcoming this offseason.
Carolina is not expected to offer Young an extension before the ’26 season, The Athletic’s Joe Person notes. This is not especially surprising given the diminutive quarterback’s struggles through three seasons. Canales played a central role in elevating the former Heisman winner into a capable starter, after the Panthers benched the Tepper-driven QB draftee two games into his second season. After trade offers emerged, an Andy Dalton car accident led to Young being given another chance. He has kept the job since.
Young ranked 22nd in QBR last season, though it took him 16 games to clear 3,000 passing yards. Averaging 6.3 yards per attempt, Young finished with 3,011 yards and a 23-11 TD-INT ratio. That still represents considerable progress after a concerning rookie season. The Panthers devoted two first-round picks (Xavier Legette, Tetairoa McMillan) to staffing Young’s receiving corps, seeing McMillan win Offensive Rookie of the Year acclaim. More development will be necessary for the Panthers to complete an extension.
No extension will keep Young tied to a $1.15MM base salary in 2026, though his cap number checks in at $12.1MM. The Panthers picked up Sam Darnold‘s fifth-year option and gave Teddy Bridgewater a three-year, $63MM contract. But they have not extended a starting QB since paying Cam Newton ahead of his 2015 MVP season. That re-up came in Newton’s fifth NFL offseason. Newton had proven far more than Young on his rookie deal. This Tepper-Canales-Dan Morgan regime is expected to see how Young’s stock looks in his fifth offseason before committing long term.