Dave Canales was hired as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers on January 25, 2024, becoming the seventh head coach in the history of the franchise. Canales comes to Carolina having spent his first 13 seasons in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks (2010-22) in various roles on the offensive side of the ball prior to serving as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a season ago in 2023.
In his lone season as offensive coordinator with the Buccaneers, several players recorded career-highs as the team won the NFC South division and reached the divisional round of the playoffs after defeating the reigning NFC champion, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the Wild Card round. Quarterback Baker Mayfield set career-highs in passing yards (4,044), completion percentage (64.3%), touchdowns (28) and completions (364). He was one of just two quarterbacks in the NFL to throw 27+ touchdowns and 10-or-fewer interceptions on the season.
Running back Rachaad White set career-highs in rushing yards (990) and ranked third among NFL running backs with 549 receiving yards. His 1,539 scrimmage yards tied for the seventh-most league-wide in 2023. Wide Receiver Mike Evans reached the 1,000-yard mark for the 10th consecutive season and became the first player ever to record 60+ receptions in each of his first 10-career seasons. He and teammate Chris Godwin were one-of-three pairs of teammates this season to record at least 75 receptions and 950 receiving yards.
He joined the Buccaneers after spending the past 13 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks (2010-22), where he helped the organization to 10 playoff appearances, two conference championships and a Super Bowl XLVIII title. Canales originally joined the Seahawks as an offensive quality control coach (2010-12) before being elevated to assistant quarterbacks coach (2013-14) and later wide receivers coach (2015-17), quarterbacks coach (2018-19, 2022) and pass game coordinator (2020-21).
As quarterbacks coach in 2022, Canales instructed Geno Smith to his first career Pro Bowl selection, in addition to receiving Comeback Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Smith was also named the NFL's Most Improved Player by the PFWA after leading the NFL with a 69.8% completion percentage and setting career highs in completions (399), passing yards (4,282) and passing touchdowns (30).
The Seahawks excelled offensively during Canales' tenure in Seattle, recording 7.61 passing yards per attempt and 4.53 rushing yards per attempt over the 13-year run. Seattle was the only offense to rank in the top five in both of those categories during that span. With Canales' guidance, former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson joined Peyton Manning as the only players in league history with 3,000-or-more passing yards and 20-plus passing touchdowns in each of their first 10 seasons. In addition, while Canales was Seattle's pass game coordinator in 2020, wide receiver Tyler Lockett established a new franchise record with 100 receptions, while fellow wide receiver D.K. Metcalf set a new franchise mark with 1,303 receiving yards.
Prior to his time in Seattle, Canales spent one season as an assistant strength coach and video assistant at the University of Southern California in 2009, while also working with the quarterbacks. He made the jump to USC from El Camino (California) College (2006-08), where he was the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator before coaching the quarterbacks in his final season. During that time, he worked as a part-time coach at the annual Pete Carroll football camps where he built a relationship with Carroll. Canales began his coaching career as the head freshman/sophomore coach and offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Carson High School, from 2004-05. He played wide receiver at Azusa Pacific University from 1999- 2003, being named team captain twice, and earned his degree in business administration in 2003.
A native of Carson, California, Canales and his wife, Lizzy, have four children: Ashby, Benjamin, Beatrice and Amaya.
