Despite flagging hopes after the preseason, most fans of the Carolina Panthers are still confident in at least mild improvements from their favorite team in 2025. The Panthers have not won more than five games in a season with a full time head coach since 2018. Dave Canales matched that in 2024 in his first year as a head coach at any level of football. That “success” combined with quarterback Bryce Young’s improved play down the stretch generated a level of optimism that has carried through the offseason.
Fans were extremely high on the Panthers after the draft and free agency and are still mostly up on the team after a disappointing preseason. A majority of fans remain confident that the team is headed in the right direction. Keep in mind that, despite this being a question about overall confidence in a long term plan, this question has always been remarkably sensitive to recent wins and losses. The 30% of fans who appear to have lost faith after three exhibition games would likely come rushing back to confidence off of a Week 1 win. Conversely, anything less than a close loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 7th could easily see another 30% of fans ready to jump ship.
This is probably a better indicator of the full range of emotions across the fanbase. A majority expect the team to win at least one more game than they did last season. Three quarters of fans expect something between mild to incredible improvement, while only 26% are expecting the team to take a step back.
Panthers fans have been through a lot since 2018, so optimism like this is a bit of a new look for all of us. What actually happens next is anybody’s guess, but the good news is that we only have to wait one more week to find out how it’s all going to start.
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