The Chicago Bears have a good sense of what to expect as they prepare for opening day against the Carolina Panthers. This is not a team to be underestimated. It made the playoffs last season and nearly upended the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round. While far from consistent, the team has a reputation for being pesky. Much of that is thanks to the offensive prowess of head coach Dave Canales, one of the better play-callers in the NFL, dating back to his brief stint as a coordinator in Tampa Bay, where Baker Mayfield flirted with MVP honors.
Yet amidst the madness of the past few months, most people didn’t notice a change in Carolina. One that, in hindsight, should’ve been considered seismic for the Panthers organization. Canales elected to surrender play-calling duties moving forward, handing them to 34-year-old offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.
“Idzik is new to playcalling, but he’s not new to Young. The coordinator, now in his third year with the title, will take control of those playcalling duties after inheriting the job from coach Dave Canales this offseason. And with a new voice in the quarterback’s helmet on game days, the hope is that Young — with a lucrative contract extension at stake — will flourish during the biggest season of his NFL career and the Panthers will make another postseason run.”
One cannot understate how bizarre this decision is. Canales has gotten more out of that Carolina roster than many realize, despite the team’s underwhelming rankings. Suddenly handing that responsibility off to a completely untried assistant feels needlessly reckless.
History says the Chicago Bears will benefit from this.
Idzik could end up becoming a true gem at the job. However, recent history isn’t on his side. There have been several instances in the past few years where a head coach who called plays successfully decided to hand it off to an assistant. The decisions were made for one of two reasons. Either the offense was stuck in a rut and needed a jolt. Or the head coach felt he needed to take some responsibilities off his plate so he could focus on the entire team. It sounds logical, but the results rarely turn out well.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
Doug Pederson won a Super Bowl as a play caller. However, he chose to give the sheet to offensive coordinator Press Taylor in 2023. The offense dropped from 3rd to 8th with quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing a career-high 15 interceptions. Mike McCarthy gave it up after the 2014 season despite the Green Bay Packers reaching the NFC Championship and being #1 in points scored. They dropped to 15th in 2015 with Tom Clements calling the shots. Kevin Stefanski tried it twice in Cleveland in 2024 and 2025. The offense got worse both times.
There are already signs that Carolina may regret the decision.
The offense didn’t look overly sharp in the preseason. Maybe that’s just the usual rust. However, one must not forget that this unit was wildly inconsistent even with Canales calling plays, and he’s really good. What might happen if you give that responsibility to a rookie? Not the results you’re hoping for, most of the time. Granted, the Bears’ defense is an unknown quantity. Much of its personnel was overhauled, and two of their key defensive backs, Coby Bryant and Kyler Gordon, will not play.
Still, Dennis Allen is well-regarded as one of the better defensive coordinators in the league. He understands how to put stress on offenses through disguised coverages and exotic blitzes. Is Idzik ready for all that? He better be. Otherwise, the Panthers may have just handed the Chicago Bears an unnecessary advantage in this game. Canales will certainly be questioned if things falter early.
