NFL

Panthers to hire Buccaneers offensive coordinator Canales as head coach

By Sports Desk January 25, 2024

The Carolina Panthers have agreed to hire Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales to be their next head coach, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday.

Canales will take the reins in Carolina despite having only one year of experience as an NFL coordinator.

Canales will be the seventh head coach for the Panthers since David Tepper took over as owner of the team in 2018.

Carolina fired Frank Reich in late November after a 1-10 start in his first season as head coach and replaced him with special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who went 1-5 down the stretch.

The Panthers’ 2-15 record was the worst in the NFL, but Carolina does not own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft because that selection was traded to the Chicago Bears as part of the deal that saw the Panthers move up to No. 1 in last year’s draft.

Carolina took quarterback Bryce Young first overall in 2023, and he will now work with Canales after the 42-year-old helped Tampa Bay win the NFC South title and advance to the divisional round of the play-offs this season.

Canales began his NFL coaching career with the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 and remained with the club until joining Tampa Bay in February 2023.

In 2022 as Seattle’s quarterbacks coach, Canales worked with Geno Smith en route to the signal-caller winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is a finalist for the award this season.

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