Panthers HC Dave Canales went to sleep after team plane ran off taxiway

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales continues to be a beacon of positivity, including in the strangest of circumstances.

On early Friday morning, the Delta flight carrying the team’s players, coaches and staff back from their preseason opener hit an unexpected slide. The plane, after a safe landing to their trip from New England, ran off a taxiway and into the mud at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Fortunately, the incident did not result in any injuries to any of the 188 passengers. The mishap did, however, cause a bit of a delay—which Canales sorta used to his advantage.

“It was a clean, safe landing,” he told reporters after Saturday’s practice. “We were on the ground. And then as we were taxiing—the plane was under control, we just felt a little jolt. The pilot informed us that there was something going on, that they were gonna have to bring people out to evaluate.

“So, I promptly went to sleep. It was like, ‘Okay, I know these things from flying commercial and it might take some time.’ So I took a nap.”

But despite the issue, Canales seemed rather satisfied with the service.

“For me, there’s only one way to grade landings—and that’s safely,” he added. “That’s a pass/fail deal and he passed it with flying colors.”

So it seems that Canales is rarely stuck in the mud, even when he’s literally stuck in the mud.