Carolina Panthers hire Nate Carroll, Pete Carroll’s son, as passing game coordinator

The Carolina Panthers have hired Nate Carroll to be their pass game coordinator, per the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Carroll is the son of former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

Nathan Carroll has been coaching for the Seahawks since 2011. Most recently, he was the team’s senior offensive assistant since the 2022 campaign. Nate Carroll and Panthers head coach Dave Canales have an expansive history together.

Canales served in a multitude of roles for the Seahawks from 2010-22 before taking over as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator in 2023. Now, the pair will reunite as they look to build something special in Carolina.

Canales already has a vision for the Panthers. Earlier this month, during an appearance on “NFL Live,” Canales revealed how he plans to turn the struggling organization around. 

“Really, to lean on our strengths. I think it’s really important,” Canales said. “We have some great continuity happening on the defensive side. I’m really excited to build off of that. And then offensively, just some really good pieces that we have to work off of. Some great talent at the tackle spots, and of course Bryce [Young]. But just getting in here to know, like, this is a place that has seen success over the years and just being able to tap into that. 

“Not unlike the experience in Tampa. It wasn’t like I was there to reestablish a culture. There was a culture of winning already in that building. For me, it was just kind of wanting to build off of the pieces that are there, the confidence and where are we starting at? What can we do as opposed to what can’t we do? That type of mentality.”

Dave Canales outlines what stands out about Bryce Young

Young, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick out of Alabama, will be crucial to any success Canales and the Panthers have moving forward. He started 16 games as a rookie, throwing for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 59.8% passing.

Carolina owned the league’s worst offense. As he did with Mayfield in Tampa Bay, Canales is tasked with finding a way to get the best out of Young. 

Talent, according to Canales, isn’t the issue. And with a fresh voice in Canales in his ear and more experience under his belt, Young could soon start to look like the quarterback who shined at Alabama, winning a Heisman Trophy in 2021. 

“The accuracy, the mobility, the courage under fire,” Canales said. “This is a guy that just bounces back. He’s seen NFL football, and he sees what it is. These are really talented players, and then for him to have 16 games of experience under his belt of seeing just the variety of defenses and rushes that can happen, I’m really excited about just his makeup and the way that he just kept bouncing back.”