Seahawks’ Geno Smith: Expect ‘elite’ approach by Panthers’ Dave Canales with Bryce Young
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Panthers hire Dave Canales as head coach
The Carolina Panthers hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as head coach. Along with new general manager Dan Morgan, the two are tasked with turning around a Panthers team that finished 2-15 after the 2023 NFL season.
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith knows new Panthers head coach Dave Canales about as well as any quarterback in the NFL.
The pair worked together for four seasons in Seattle, and Canales helped guide Smith to a career year during his Pro Bowl season in 2022. That campaign led to an NFL Comeback Player of the Year award and a three-year, $75 million contract for Smith, and it also gave Canales the momentum to land the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator job in 2023.
One year later, Canales has been named the head coach in Carolina. Smith says Canales’ hiring gives the Panthers a strong leader to guide quarterback Bryce Young and his comrades into battle.
“I would say Dave’s style is ever-evolving,” Smith said on a conference call with Charlotte media Friday. “I think, overall, from what I’ve seen with Dave, he’s going to do whatever it takes to win and to put up points.
“So, whether that’s run game, pass game, play-action, dropback, all that stuff — quick game — he’s going to incorporate it and make it fit the team, and adjust to the team and to the guys that he has. And he’s going to maximize their capabilities, and I think that’s what makes him great.”
Dave Canales helped Geno Smith thrive
Smith signed with Seattle in 2019 as a veteran free agent serving as Russell Wilson’s backup. Canales oversaw the position that season before being promoted to passing game coordinator from 2020 to 2021.
During the 2021 season, Smith was forced into action for four games (three starts), producing 702 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception while completing 68.4% of his passes. While the Seahawks went 1-2 in his three starts, Smith’s output during that stretch served as a strong preview of what was to come from the Smith-Canales partnership.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me that anything was going to be great because of the way that he works,” Smith said. “His process is elite, and that’s something that is more important to me than the results.”
In 2022, with Smith as the starting quarterback, the 2013 second-round pick put up career highs in every major statistical category. In the wake of Wilson’s trade to the Denver Broncos, Smith threw for 4,282 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also completed 69.8% of his passes under Canales’ guidance.
The Panthers are hoping that success can be duplicated with Canales as head coach and Young serving as his quarterback.
“The things that we did was a lot about footwork and timing,” Smith said. “A lot of it was about reading coverages and making adjustments — whether that’s pre-snap or post-snap. And I would say, he and I, we had a different maybe dynamic than he’ll see in Carolina, because I was more of a veteran. So, he didn’t have to do as much teaching with me, but he’s a great teacher.
“He knows the game; he understands the game. He can help guys develop and help them develop faster. So for me, just the conversations that we had, were on a very mature level, but they really helped him.”
Canales knows how to coach ‘great quarterbacks’
Similar to Smith, former Carolina quarterback Baker Mayfield also had a career year under Canales’ coaching in Tampa Bay.
With Canales as offensive coordinator, Mayfield led the Buccaneers to an NFC South title, as he threw for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Like Smith before him, Mayfield is among the finalists for the 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.
The back-to-back improved quarterback campaigns show that Canales has a way with the position. Now, he will need that improvement to head Young’s way after a forgettable rookie season.
“When it comes to his relationship with the quarterback, with Bryce, he’s a guy who has been around a lot of great quarterbacks,” Smith said. “And he knows how to coach them. He’s coached some really good quarterbacks, and he has a system, he has a style, he knows exactly what he wants done and how he wants it done. And he’s going to get Bryce to do that through repetition, through practice, through meeting time and classroom and the film room.
“I think that’s going to pay off a bunch for Bryce because he’s already, I think, a talented quarterback. And I think having Dave is going to help him become even better.”
And while Canales’ main focus will be on the offense, the new head coach will need the entire Panthers team to step up in order for him to succeed.
Smith is optimistic about what Canales can provide for the Panthers.
“When you talk about coaching, you talk about connecting with people — and I think he’s a great connector,” Smith said. “I think one of the things Dave does a great job of is he doesn’t get antsy, he doesn’t get nervous, he’s very calm, very stoic, and I think that rubs off on the guys around him.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2024 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Seahawks’ Geno Smith: Expect ‘elite’ approach by Panthers’ Dave Canales with Bryce Young."
