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The Carolina Panthers have their newest head coach and this time it comes in the form of a division rival’s offensive coordinator.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team has chosen to go with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales after an extensive search. The move comes after two meetings with Canales over the past couple of weeks, the first of which was virtual and the second that came in person earlier this week. The hiring of Canales also comes just hours after the team met with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel for the first time for the job.
Canales will take over the job after just one season as an offensive coordinator in Tampa. In his lone season, the Buccaneers finished 20th in the league in points per game (20.5), 23rd in total yards (313.0), 17th in passing yards per game (224.2) and 32nd in rushing yards (88.0). While these stats may seem concerning, it is notable that the offense got better as the season went along and was very productive in the postseason where they averaged 417.0 yards of total offense and 27.5 points in those two games.
The most notable thing that Canales was able to do this year was coordinate the major improvement that Baker Mayfield showed this year. The sixth-year quarterback from Oklahoma posted career highs in passing yards (4,044), completion percentage (64.5%) and passing touchdowns (28) this year and only threw ten interceptions, the second-fewest of his career. Mayfield was also amazing in the playoffs, throwing for 686 yards and six touchdowns as he led the Buccaneers to a blowout win over the Eagles and hard-fought loss to the Lions in Detroit.
Wes & Walker broke the news on the Charlotte airwaves earlier this afternoon and are both complimentary of the hire. “I a fan of it,” said Walker. “This is somebody that did a fantastic job with this Tampa Bay offense this year. Not only did you have Tampa Bay reach the postseason, not only did you see the Buccaneers win a postseason game, not only did you see them compete with the Detroit Lions that are marching on to conference championship weekend, he also repaired what was a bad football player last year in Baker Mayfield at the most premium position in all of sports.”
“I think this is a good hire,” Wes said. “We’ve seen a lot of people that have limited experience come in and do a fantastic job. Bryce finally has a consistent voice. Hopefully, they will dumb it down and not have as many voices in his ear. Hopefully, it will be Canales and perhaps the quarterbacks coach. They got the young offensive mind that they were looking for.”
To hear more reactions to the hire throughout the rest of the day today and into tomorrow, be sure to listen live on WNFZ.com or on the mobile app. Also, make sure to subscribe to all three daily shows, Mac & Bone Show, The Wes & Walker Show and The Kyle Bailey Show, wherever you get your podcasts so you can catch up on all the great content any time of day.
