Buccaneers reportedly lose OC Dave Canales to rival Panthers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got double whammied on Thursday by their NFC South division rival Carolina Panthers. Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Panthers are hiring Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales as their new head coach. The move is one that will affect the Buccaneers on multiple fronts. First, they will have to now […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got double whammied on Thursday by their NFC South division rival Carolina Panthers.
Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Panthers are hiring Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales as their new head coach.
The move is one that will affect the Buccaneers on multiple fronts. First, they will have to now find a new offensive coordinator, which means a new system for everyone after just one season with Canales. An unfortunate time to go back to the drawing board after the Bucs just finished up winning 6 of their last 8 games including the playoffs.
They will also now also have to face the former leader of their offense twice a year. A coach who knows Todd Bowles and the players on the roster all very well.
Canales is also a coach who knows how to get the most out of a struggling quarterback, and there's little doubt that Carolina QB Bryce Young struggle mightily this year as a rookie. Canales did yeoman's work with Geno Smith in 2022, who had a career renaissance with Canales helping him. Same thing last year with Baker Mayfield, who had a huge bounce back year in Canales' offense with 4044 passing yards and 28 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
Speaking of Mayfield, the Bucs are certainly interesting in bringing him back to Tampa, and one has to wonder what that means now for that. If they're serious about that and they think they can do it, finding someone with a relatively similar system and/or philosophy to Canales would be good. QB coach Thad Lewis, who the Raiders have asked to interview, would make sense to promote as far as having that continuity and having worked with Mayfield this year.
The Buccaneers' arrow is pointing up as 2024 begins. Whether it stays that way could depend on how well they're able to fill Canales' shoes in the coming days.
