Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales is on the verge of becoming the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, NFL Network and ESPN reported Thursday afternoon.
Canales spent the 2023 season as offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay and previously coached quarterbacks for the Seattle Seahawks, where new Panthers general manager Dan Morgan was among his co-workers.
Canales and Morgan were both hired by the Seahawks in 2010 and climbed the professional ranks together.
Carolina finished with the NFL’s worst record at 2-15 and ranked 32nd in total offense (265.3 yards per game), passing (161.2 ypg) and tied for last in points per game (13.9) with the New England Patriots.
Reports indicate the Panthers are working to keep their defensive staff intact.
Once he signs his contract, Canales will become the seventh head coach since owner David Tepper purchased the team in 2018, including three interim coaches. Chris Tabor finished last season as interim coach following the firing of first-year coach Frank Reich. Reich was hired over 2022 interim coach Steve Wilks, who had replaced Matt Rhule. Rhule was Tepper’s pick to replace Ron Rivera, with Perry Fewell holding down the fort as interim coach in between.
Canales, 42, was an assistant strength coach at Southern California when he was hired by the Seahawks in 2010 as an offensive quality control coach and climbed the ranks to passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was credited for reviving the career of Geno Smith, a Pro Bowl pick with 4,282 passing yards in 2022, and received even more kudos for extracting a career year out of former Panthers’ failed revival project Baker Mayfield in 2023. Mayfield turned in career-high numbers with 4,044 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and a 64.3 completion percentage.
Canales has never been a head coach at any level.
Morgan was an NFL linebacker drafted 11th overall in the 2001 draft by the Panthers. Injuries, including a series of concussions, cut his career short after 59 games.
–Field Level Media