Carolina hiring Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales as head coach

TAMPA — Dave Canales helped turn around the careers of quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith. The Panthers are hiring him as head coach to hopefully do the same with Bryce Young.

The first-year Bucs offensive coordinator is finalizing an agreement with Carolina to become the franchise’s 10th head coach, despite having no head coaching experience or ever having called a play in the NFL until this season.

Canales, 42, completes one of the most meteoric rises in NFL coaching. He spent 13 years with Pete Carroll and the Seahawks, eventually promoted to the quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator. But he was passed over at least three times for offensive coordinator in Seattle.

Canales is reunited with new Carolina president of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan, who spent eight seasons with Canales in Seattle.

Despite his relative inexperience, Canales’ positivity is infectious and his work with both Smith in Seattle and Mayfield in Tampa Bay likely was a big factor in hiring him to work with Young, the 22-year-old first overall draft pick.

Young passed for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 58.8% of his passes for the 2-15 Panthers.

Bucs players, including receiver Mike Evans, who tied for the NFL lead with 13 touchdowns, have spoken highly of Canales.

“Dave has done a great job,” Evans said last week. “He’s so positive every day. He knows exactly what to say. And he has a really brilliant mind. Any team would be lucky to have him as the head guy.”

On Wednesday, Canales completed his second interview with the Panthers, this one in person in Charlotte. Apparently, he made quite an impression on Panthers owner David Tepper.

“This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Canales said last week when asked about becoming a head coach. “I have some stuff prepared that I’ve been thinking about for a couple years.”

The Bucs suddenly find themselves with a lot of questions to answer in the offseason on offense after winning the NFC South for the third straight season.

Both Mayfield and Evans remain unsigned for 2024, and the Bucs suddenly have a need for a new play-caller.

Quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis would be the No. 1 candidate currently on Todd Bowles’ coaching staff. The Raiders have asked the Bucs permission to interview Lewis, presumably for their coordinator’s job.

With Bowles’ job security a little safer, the Bucs may not have as much trouble attracting candidates for offensive coordinator this year. They could have several candidates that they interviewed last year, such as the Panthers’ Thomas Brown and recently fired Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, who interviewed with Tampa Bay twice last year.

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Canales was hired over an impressive list of candidates who interviewed with the Panthers: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Rams defensive coordinator (and former Bucs head coach) Raheem Morris, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

Canales helped Mayfield rebuild his career and the Bucs returned to the playoffs after claiming a third straight NFC South title.

This past Sunday, the Bucs lost 31-23 to the Lions in an NFC division-round game. But under Canales, Mayfield established himself as a productive starting quarterback by posting career highs in passing yards (4,044), touchdowns (28) and completion percentage (64.3).

In Seattle as the team’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator, he helped resurrect the career of Smith, who won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award for the 2022 season. Perhaps not coincidentally, Mayfield was named a finalist for the same honor on Thursday.

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