For the first time in his career, Dave Canales is a head coach in the NFL. The Carolina Panthers hired him after serving one season as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Bucaneers.
Canales’ rise from quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks to head coach in a span of two years was rather unexpected, given the situation he walked into with the Buccaneers this season. The 42-year-old took over the play-calling duties for a reeling offense that had seen Tom Brady walk away into retirement. Baker Mayfield, who spent time with three teams in the span of one calendar year, was coming to his fourth in that same timeframe.
With low expectations around league circles, the Buccaneers overachieved. Tampa Bay won the NFC South for a third consecutive season and Mayfield earned the first Pro Bowl nomination of his career. Canales earned widespread praise for his work, leading to him becoming a head coaching candidate and eventually for Carolina to give him the reins to its operation.
Dave Canales looking to rebuild Panthers
Now, the goal is clear: Change the culture in Carolina. Take a 2-15 team and make them relevant once again. Canales, speaking on “NFL Live” Tuesday, discussed his vision for how he plans to turn the Panthers around.
“Really, to lean on our strengths. I think it’s really important,” Canales said. “We have some great continuity happening on the defensive side. I’m really excited to build off of that. And then offensively, just some really good pieces that we have to work off of. Some great talent at the tackle spots, and of course Bryce [Young]. But just getting in here to know, like, this is a place that has seen success over the years and just being able to tap into that.
“Not unlike the experience in Tampa. It wasn’t like I was there to reestablish a culture. There was a culture of winning already in that building. For me, it was just kind of wanting to build off of the pieces that are there, the confidence and where are we starting at? What can we do as opposed to what can’t we do? That type of mentality.”
Dave Canales outlines what stands out about Bryce Young
Young, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick out of Alabama, will be crucial to any success Canales and the Panthers have moving forward. He started 16 games as a rookie, throwing for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 59.8% passing. Carolina owned the league’s worst offense. As he did with Mayfield in Tampa Bay, Canales is tasked with finding a way to get the best out of Young.
Talent, according to Canales, isn’t the issue. And with a fresh voice in Canales in his ear and more experience under his belt, Young could soon start to look like the quarterback who shined at Alabama, winning a Heisman Trophy in 2021.
“The accuracy, the mobility, the courage under fire,” Canales said. “This is a guy that just bounces back. He’s seen NFL football, and he sees what it is. These are really talented players, and then for him to have 16 games of experience under his belt of seeing just the variety of defenses and rushes that can happen, I’m really excited about just his makeup and the way that he just kept bouncing back.”
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