The Hunger Games are over on 800 South Mint Street.
Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales joined president of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan for their pre-draft press conference on Thursday. In a bit of non-draft talk, the 42-year-old spoke about what type of culture he’s trying to build in his very first season on the job.
“I’m trying to create a place that’s great to work at,” Canales said this afternoon. “A place that people get excited to come in, excited to sit in these meeting rooms. It’s entertaining, it’s informative, but it’s not too much. And just in general, it feels personal. So just trying to make sure I position myself in those high-traffic places in the building and just make that one touch a day if I can.”
Canales implemented that approach on the first day of the offseason workout program, when he greeted each player one-by-one before the start of a meeting. And although he didn’t nail every guy’s name down, it’s clear that things feel quite a bit different at Bank of America Stadium.
“Just say the guy’s name,” he added. “I was about 85, 90 percent on the first day. Even off going off just the headshots. These guys look different. When you get to see LaBryan [Ray] in person, he’s ginormous.
“So it’s just taking in all of that, but just saying a name—if it’s a handshake, if it’s a pound, oh, this guy wants a hug, let’s bring it in for a hug. Whatever that touch is. Just trying to create that kind of environment here that this is a place where they feel safe, they can just come in and do their job.”
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