Diontae Johnson is in the same boat as his head coach Dave Canales. They’re both figuring out what the Carolina Panthers are all about. For Canales, he’s a first-year head coach trying to provide stability and wins to a franchise that’s fallen off a cliff. For Johnson, he has a fresh start after five years in Pittsburgh, traded early in the offseason.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Johnson compared and contrasted his old coach Mike Tomlin with his new one in Canales.
“Once I got here, his energy was different,” he told The Athletic’s Joseph Person. “He’s a younger coach. I’ve been around Coach T (Mike Tomlin) for five years. Coach T’s serious. He’s about his business. I’m not saying coach Canales is not. But they’ve both got different personalities.”
Though Canales is on the other side of the ball, an offensive-minded background, there’s similarities to how he and Tomlin forged their head coaching paths. Both were among football’s youngest head coaches when hired. Tomlin younger, 34 years old in 2007, but Canales is in his early-40s. Both quickly ascended the coaching ranks, Tomlin hired by the NFL six years into his overall coaching career. Canales got his NFL call-up six years in. And both spent just one season as a coordinator before being hired as head coach, unexpected candidates to land a top job.
But Johnson wasn’t around for Tomlin’s early days. By the time the Steelers drafted him in 2019, Tomlin was an established veteran with a Super Bowl ring. And while Tomlin’s been known to be lighthearted, it sounds like he’s a little sterner than Canales.
Johnson also responded to a report the Steelers spurned trade talks with the Kansas City Chiefs, Johnson believing the team didn’t want to trade him anywhere in the AFC. That may be true and if so it’s sensible the Steelers didn’t specifically want to send him to Kansas City, a dynasty that would only get stronger with Johnson as Patrick Mahomes’ newest target.
After two weeks of rumors, Pittsburgh traded Diontae Johnson to Carolina for draft pick and player swaps, getting CB Donte Jackson in return. Johnson will anchor a Panthers wide receiver room that was the worst in football a year ago, leading first overall pick Bryce Young to struggle as a rookie. The Steelers remain in search of Johnson’s true replacement, either hoping Roman Wilson can emerge or a trade will materialize in late summer.
Regardless of differences in style, Tomlin and Canales hope to achieve the same substance. Deliver their organization a postseason win. Pittsburgh hasn’t done it since 2017. Carolina’s last playoff victory came in the 2015 season, when Johnson was just a freshman at Toledo.
