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The Carolina Panthers are closing in on a deal to hire Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as their coach, a league source said.
Canales, 42, led Tampa Bay’s offense to a strong season working with quarterback Baker Mayfield after calling the Bucs’ plays for one season. This completes the Panthers’ major on-field confidence following the firings of coach Frank Reich and general manager Scott Fitterer.
Canales and new Panthers general manager Dan Morgan worked together with the Seattle Seahawks from 2010 to 2017. Canales served as wide receivers coach while Morgan worked in the scouting department.
Canales joined the Buccaneers for the 2023 season after spending the last 13 seasons with the Seahawks (2010-22), serving in numerous roles: offensive quality control coach (2010-12) before being promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach field (2013-14) and later. wide receivers coach (2015-17), quarterbacks coach (2018-19, 2022) and passing game coordinator (2020-21).
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Why Channels?
In a hiring cycle in which several established coaches — and a future Hall of Famer — were available, the Panthers hired a coach who has called plays for a season. But Canales has impressed the last two seasons by resurrecting quarterbacks Geno Smith and Mayfield. He also has a strong connection with Morgan, who was promoted to general manager/president of football operations on Monday. The two were together for eight seasons in Seattle, and that background certainly helped Canales distinguish himself from the other 10 candidates. — Joseph Person, Panthers writer
What can Canales do for Bryce Young?
While the Panthers interviewed several candidates with defensive backgrounds, the feeling in league circles was that owner David Tepper would hire an offensive-minded coach to work with Young, the No. 1 pick who endured a difficult rookie season. Ben Johnson was believed to be Tepper’s first choice, but the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator is expected to end up in Washington. So the Panthers turned to Canales, the 42-year-old who did a good job with Mayfield this season planning against pressure and blitz packages. That should come in handy for Young, who was sacked 62 times in 2023, more than any rookie except David Carr (76). — Person
What this means for the rest of the staff
The Panthers hope to keep their defensive corps intact after Carolina finished fourth in the league in total defense. It was the second straight year that defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who was in Denver in 2022, oversaw a top-10 defense on a bad team. Evero has interviewed for three head coaching positions, including Carolina. But he is under contract with the Panthers if he doesn’t land one of the remaining head coaching jobs. Offensively, expect Canales to bring Bucs receivers coach Brad Idzik to Charlotte after Idzik followed him from Seattle to Tampa last year. Panthers special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and offensive line coach James Campen are left from Matt Rhule’s staff and could be retained again. — Person
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(Photo: Cliff Welch / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)