CHARLOTTE — From time to time, every few weeks or when the situation calls for it, Dave Canales meets with the Carolina Panthers' leadership council.

It's a group of about 15 or so, consisting of the permanent season captains (Bryce Young, Derrick Brown, and JJ Jansen) as well as veteran guys who have both been a part of the Panthers for a while, and those who have been around other winning programs that can offer insight and variety.

"A lot of humility in that room," explained Canales on Monday. "Certainly a group that's been growing in confidence based on how we've been playing and how we've been preparing."

That leadership council met on Monday of this week, following the Panthers' 40-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The group was honest, on "Tell the Truth Monday," about everything that went right and, more importantly, what went wrong in the Week 8 loss.

"Had a chance to meet with our leadership council of our players, talking about the game, reflecting on—that's not our football," shared Canales. "And just kind of had that conversation about the run game, playing it well with discipline, the tackling, the things that showed up there, and of course taking care of the ball on the flip side of it offensively.

Having conversations with leaders isn't new, and for that matter, neither is reconvening after a tough loss. This is the second time in season that Canales and the group met. The first was after the Week 4 loss to the Patriots.

"Four weeks ago we had the same meeting; we had one at the beginning of the year, got four games in and then regrouped," explained Canales. "And it's a great leadership group. The guys understand that it's the work and it's the process that have led to the success.

"So, very eerily similar in that regard (to New England) and I'm hoping for the same result so the guys come back together, regroup, and we get back to some really good football."

The difference this time, according to Canales, was that he and his players were able to walk out of the room with a clear plan for how to respond to the Week 8 loss. They were able to create said plan because, perhaps for the first time in a while, they had defined the Panthers' identity.

"Definitely there was a shift early in the season, even from our veteran players in our group—these a lot of them who were new to this team and new to this group—it's a team that's grown together," promised Canales.

"It's a team that's found ways to win in different phases, and going into this meeting today, there's a sense of an identity, there's a sense of what we look like at our best, and we understand where we're going, what we're getting after, and what's required of it.

"So there is a confidence that's growing and a knowing of who we are and what our identity can be at its best."

Since Canales arrived in January of 2024, he's talked about finding and establishing the Panthers' identity in its current iteration. It will change from year to year, thanks to the turnover that naturally comes with an NFL team. No two teams are the same.

But to build something, there needs to be a foundation—which was set last season—and a framework, which is being added now. And finally, this team feels confident they have a clear picture of who they will be in the building, and Sunday's 31-point loss will not deter them.

"This team's in a different spot than we were four weeks ago," said linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who is a part of that leadership group. "I know, obviously the game on Sunday wasn't what we—where we've been, but, sitting in that room four weeks ago, we had won one game, but at the same time we were really trying to figure out who we were, and I think now we can see what we can be and the confidence is there.

"Obviously, the game wasn't what we wanted, and that's something, like I said earlier, we'll address, but at the same time, it's believing as a team, no matter who we're up against."

It must be said, this identity became clear largely because it's in direct opposition to whatever showed up on the field Sunday against the Bills. The loss helped the team draw huge red circles around what they decidedly did not want to be. It also evaluated who the Panthers were during the four wins this season; what went right in those games? And in what ways did it not show up against the Bills?

"The challenge for us is to return to the football that led to success, which is stopping the run first and foremost, getting our run game going, and then taking care of the ball so that we can get back and return to the version of football we want to play," said Canales.

"Some great football, great process. What we're asking them to get out of each day are— Wednesday through Saturday—showing up on Sunday and playing good technical, technically sound football, those are the principles that are going to get us back to playing our type of ball and it was a much better conversation after four weeks, looking at what we've done and saying what led to this?

"Well, it's fundamentals, it's the attention to detail throughout the week, and then it's on Sunday, showing up with everything you have and making sure those things carry over."

Four weeks ago, when Dave Canales and the Panthers' leadership council met, it was to establish a plan. They knew who they wanted to be and needed to set a path to make it happen. On Monday morning of this week, they walked out of the room with not only a plan in place but also examples on which to draw, patterns to re-establish, and complete confidence in their ability to do so, thanks to a defined identity.

"I feel like everyone's confident in themselves and also this team," preached Chuba Hubbard. "This is the NFL, and that, even after a loss, doesn't mean you burn the whole ship, and after a win doesn't mean you just hold on to that success forever either.

"It's just about resetting every single week, and every guy in that room knows what it takes to win and what it looks like. So, it was just kind of falling back to the fundamentals of the process that we've been building."