Fred Kitchen

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers secondary coach Jonathan Cooley was dripping with sweat when he ran into head coach Dave Canales in the locker room shortly before the first meeting at 7 a.m.

"You just come from the sauna?'' Canales asked.

Cooley laughed and told his new boss he goes to a hot yoga class that incorporates weights every morning around 5:45 a.m. before coming to Bank of America Stadium.

Canales saw this an opportunity not only to get back into yoga, but as a key part of turning around the Panthers by building relationships. So he accompanied Cooley the next day, a routine he's continued almost every Thursday since.

"It's been cool to develop that relationship,'' said Cooley, a part of the defensive staff that was retained from last season to work for the 43-year-old first-year offensive-minded NFL head coach.

"The football hasn't really changed for us on our side of the ball, but creating that connection and that closeness -- somebody that you can believe in -- from that standpoint it allows you to go that extra mile when you don't necessarily feel like it.''

Canales goes the extra mile to build relationships and discover self-awareness moments for all of his coaches and players. It's at the core of the culture he's trying to build in an attempt to revive an organization that has endured six straight losing seasons, including an NFL-worst 2-15 record in 2023.

"That's a big part of it all,'' backup quarterback Andy Dalton said. "At the end of the day, the relationship is what matters. When you know you can trust somebody, and you have that personal relationship, you can connect on a whole different level.''

CANALES WAS AT the stadium entrance on the first day of offseason workouts, waiting to greet every player -- and hopefully call each by name. He spent weeks studying their pictures so he would recognize them.

"I was about 85, 90 percent that first day just going off of heads shots,'' Canales said.

He continued doing this for more than a month, intentionally making sure to build on that connection.

"Every day,'' tight end Tommy Tremble said. "I knew he did it a few times. Then I realized it's every day. It's been awesome. You just feel comfortable with him, which is important for a team collectively to be heading in the same direction, which is to win.''

That Canales worked so hard to learn their names showed them the work ethic he wants to permeate throughout the building.

"It gives us that trust that if we've got a question, we can go talk to him,'' Tremble added.

Canales also strategically positions himself at different spots around the stadium every day to create moments where he can talk to players.

Or at the very least, give them a fist bump.

"Whether it's just saying a name, if it's a handshake, if it's a pound, or just bringing him in for a hug,'' Canales said. "Whatever that touch is, just trying to create that type of environment here that this is a place where they feel safe, that they can come and just do their job.''

UNDERSTANDING A PLAYER'S self-awareness is a big part of the process for Canales.

"I want to hear a guy tell their story,'' Canales said. "It says a lot about their self-awareness. It says a lot about how they can achieve their goals and how quickly they can achieve their goals by being able -- really systematically, in an organized way -- to tell their life story, where they've been, the hardships, when the light went on for them.''

For Canales some of those moments happened when he worked with Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who challenged him to "see the whole field'' when he was the receivers coach.

"He was kind of like, 'Wake up, you're just watching your receivers the whole time with your back to the rest of the team,''' Canales recalled. "He was like, 'If you want to be a coordinator some day, you're gonna have to see the protection, see the quarterback's decision and look at this route and how it's finished. Challenge yourself to see more.'''

So Canales began observing and asking questions, looking for more than one- or two-word answers from players when he mentions self-awareness.

"It's the guys who can capture those specific moments in their lives when it's like, 'Oh, this is real,''' Canales said. "That's when you know.''

"Can they actually flesh out the story?''

CANALES PUTS THE self-awareness to the test every year at the NFL combine when evaluating players for the draft. He calls it the "Tyler Lockett test" because of what he observed of the former Kansas State receiver between the time players ran the 40-yard dash and did the gauntlet drill.

"Tyler was the first one with his cleats on, the first one with his gloves on,'' Canales said. "Then he grabbed one of the equipment staff and had him immediately start to throw him passes.

"The other guys were on their phones, texting their agents or whatever they do. Tyler wasn't concerned about that. He was trying to get his hands ready for the drill and for the routes.''

Every year since then, Canales has looked for "that guy.''

"It told me here's a guy that's aware of what's going to happen,'' he said. "I'll take a guy like that because he'll continue to work on his weaknesses.''

Carolina quarterback Bryce Young revealed his self-awareness moment to Canales before the 2023 draft when the Panthers selected the former Alabama star with the No. 1 overall pick.

It happened during a pre-draft conversation at the combine when Canales, then the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was evaluating quarterbacks with no real chance of Young being available at No. 19.

It grew from a simple question about an observation Canales made about something Young "fixed'' in his performance late in his final season at Alabama. Canales didn't even mention what the observation was.

"And [Young] talked about narrowing his base and getting to the point where he can stay compact and tall, and be able to deliver the throws,'' Canales recalled.

Canales then showed Young his notes that said basically the same thing. Young was taken aback.

"It was really neat seeing this guy is aware of what his deficiencies are, and what he needs to work on,'' Canales said.

Young recalled the conversation vividly.

"It stuck with me because it was the most attentive question I got throughout the whole process,'' he said. "It was very specific. It was a change I made that I realized throughout the year.

"I had a meaning behind that, a purpose of why I changed it. We had a conversation about it. It was just really a cool moment. It just goes to show his attention to detail.''

Neither Young nor Canales had any idea they would be working together a year later. But the moment sped up the bond they've created in Carolina and helped Young trust that Canales could help him turn things around after a dreadful rookie season.

Canales called that conversation with Young a "classic test for guys'' and why it's so important in what he's trying to accomplish.

"If they're not aware of things that are holes, if they're not aware of things they need to improve on ... that doesn't mean they can't ever have it,'' Canales said. "But I just noticed the guys that do have the awareness, they get further faster because they're constantly working on those things.''

A TRIP TO Charlotte Motor Speedway a week before the mandatory minicamp in early June wasn't about finding out if the Panthers had any future NASCAR drivers. It was all about team bonding and doing it in a fun way, about finding out who the real competitors were, even though it was something outside of football.

"He's very intentional with everything he does,'' veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen said of Canales. "He's very intentional with every conversation, with where he places himself in the building at certain times of the day. He's just very intentional.

"It's just great to have great communication from the top down.''

That wasn't always the case with the past two head coaches, Frank Reich and Matt Rhule. There wasn't always harmony at the top because not all coaches were on the same page regarding the direction of the team. That spilled over into the locker room and made it tougher to build momentum during tough times.

"It's all about building a personal relationship,'' Dalton said. "[Coach Canales has] been trying to do that in a lot of different ways with a lot of different guys. Obviously, when you're new and there's a lot of new faces, it takes a lot. But you can tell how important it is for him.''

It's so important that Canales is willing to be ready at 5:45 a.m. for hot yoga with Cooley.

"One thing I love about Coach Canales is he's done an excellent job of not only preaching relationships, but being intentional about developing them with the coaches and the players,'' Cooley said. "That's allowed us to have an environment where we can get a long.''