Who is Dave Canales? Four things to know about Carolina Panthers’ next head coach

The Carolina Panthers’ search for their next head coach is complete.

Dave Canales, formerly the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Bucs who supervised the emergence of maligned quarterback Baker Mayfield in 2023, was announced Thursday evening as the Panthers’ new head coach.

The 42-year-old play-caller is the seventh head coach in franchise history — not counting interim leaders — and succeeds Frank Reich, who was fired 11 games into his tenure in Carolina after being hired less than a year ago to date.

From his quick rise in the NFL coaching ranks, to his background with quarterbacks and more — here are four things to know about Canales.

1. This is the first NFL head coaching job for Canales

The first head coaching hire for Panthers owner David Tepper was Matt Rhule, a successful college coach with big NFL dreams. The second was Reich, the veteran NFL head coach who was in many ways the antithesis to Rhule.

Where does Canales stand in that comparison?

The offensive-minded coach lands somewhere in between them, it appears: This is his first head coaching opportunity, yes, but it comes after a long tenure in the NFL.

After an unheralded college playing career and a year coaching at his high school alma mater in Carson, Calif., Canales made the jump to college coaching in 2006 when he joined El Camino College as the tight ends coach. There, he built a relationship with Pete Carroll, then the head coach of the University of Southern California, and joined Carroll on the Trojans’ staff in 2009 — before following Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010.

He spent the next 13 seasons with the Seahawks, where he worked his way up over time from offensive quality control coach to quarterbacks coach.

He landed in Tampa Bay as an offensive coordinator in 2023.

2. His rise through the NFL ranks feels fast

If it feels like his rise into the league’s consciousness has been fast, it’s because it has been. While Canales spent 13 years in Seattle, he earned the bulk of his professional respect in 2022, when he was the quarterbacks coach of an older, resurgent Geno Smith, who led the Seahawks to a playoff berth.

Those numbers with Smith? Over 4,000 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions — enough to earn him 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

This past season, in Tampa Bay, was his first as a play-caller, and he led an offense that was supposed to be reeling after the retirement of Tom Brady to impressive highs — including a 32-9 playoff win over Philadelphia earlier this month.

Another, not-to-be-overlooked part of his rapid rise? Canales and the Panthers’ newly hired general manager Dan Morgan worked together in Seattle.

3. He got the most out of Baker Mayfield

Part of the reason for the Canales hype around the league — and his particular intrigue in Carolina — is the success he’s had as a pairing with Baker Mayfield.

It’s well-documented: Mayfield’s less-than-one-year stint with the Panthers didn’t go well. The coach who brought him in got fired after five games, and Mayfield himself went 1-5 as a starter in Carolina and was released before the season was over, unsure who next would take a chance on him.

Mayfield ended up winning the starting job in Tampa Bay and had a career year under the stewardship of Canales. His stat line: 4,044 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. That was all en route an NFC South title and a win in the postseason.

4. He’s the second Panthers head coach with a Latino heritage

Canales is a second-generation Mexican-American, one of the few but growing populace of Latino coaches in the NFL. He is not the first Panthers’ head coach with a Latino heritage, however.

Ron Rivera, the winningest coach in Panthers’ history recently let go by the Washington Commanders, was born in the United States but his father was from Puerto Rico and his mother was from Mexico. When hired by the Panthers, Rivera was only the third Latino in NFL history to become a head coach, and he went on to become one of two to lead his team to a Super Bowl appearance.

This story was originally published January 26, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Who is Dave Canales? Four things to know about Carolina Panthers’ next head coach."

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription