| Carolina Panthers | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Personal information | |
| Born | May 7, 1981 Harbor City, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Carson (Carson, California) |
| College | Azusa Pacific (1999–2003) |
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season | 13–21 (.382) |
| Postseason | 0–1 (.000) |
| Career | 13–22 (.371) |
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |
David Aaron Canales (born May 7, 1981) is a professional American football coach who is the head coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). [1] He played college football at Azusa Pacific from 1999 to 2003.
From 2004 to 2006, Canales started coaching high school football in his home state of California at his alma mater, Carson. Canales moved to the college ranks in 2007 as the special teams and tight ends coach at El Camino College. After helping El Camino to the SoCal Regional Semifinals in 2008, he moved to USC in 2009, where he was an assistant strength coach. From 2010 to 2022, he served as a longtime assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks under Pete Carroll, working in multiple capacities on the offensive side of the ball. In 2023, Canales served as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he helped guide them to the 2023 NFC South Divisional title, winning in the Wild Card Round against the Philadelphia Eagles before losing to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round.
On January 25, 2024, Canales left the Buccaneers, signing a six-year contract to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Born in Harbor City, California, on May 7, 1981, Canales is the son of Ritha and Isaac Canales. [2] Both of his parents are of Mexican descent. [3] [4] Dave and his brothers, Josh and Coba were born in Harbor City, while his father was a pastor at Mission Ebenezer Family Church in Carson, California. [5] Canales attended Carson High School in Carson, graduating in 1999. [6] As a junior in 1997, Canales played defensive back and was named first-team All-Southern Pacific League. The following year he switched to quarterback, where he again was named first-team All-Southern Pacific League. [7] He also participated in track and field and baseball.
In February 1999, Canales committed to play football for Pete Shinnick's Azusa Pacific Cougars football team, then a NAIA program. He made the transition to wide receiver. As a 1999 true freshman he appeared in 7 games. He made just a single catch on the season, a 45-yarder against the Chapman Panthers. [8] The Cougars would advance to the NAIA Semifinals, where they lost to the Georgetown Tigers. [9] As a sophomore in 2000, Canales played in 7 games, missing four games due to injury. He had 7 receptions for 40 yards. Canales had his best game of the season against San Diego, recording four receptions for 24 yards. [10]
As a junior, he redshirted due to an injury that kept him from playing the entire season. He returned in the 2002 season, appearing in one game as a reserve but did not make a reception. Canales posted his best numbers as a senior in 2003, with 19 receptions for 208 yards and a touchdown. As a senior in 2003, he led Azusa Pacific to the NAIA Playoffs, finishing in ninth place.
In his college career, Canales recorded 27 receptions for 293 yards and one touchdown. [11] He earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in business administration from the Azusa Pacific University in 2003. [12]
Sources: [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Azusa Pacific Cougars | |||||||||
| Season | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yards | Avg | Yds/G | TD | |||||
| 1999 | 1 | 45 | 45.0 | 6.4 | 0 | ||||
| 2000 | 7 | 40 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 0 | ||||
| 2001 | Injured | ||||||||
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | ||||
| 2003 | 19 | 208 | 10.9 | 20.8 | 1 | ||||
| Career | 27 | 293 | 10.9 | 12.2 | 1 | ||||
Canales began his coaching career serving as the head coach and offensive coordinator of the freshman/sophomore team at his alma mater, Carson High School, from 2004 to 2005. [18] [19]
Canales made the jump to college coaching in 2006 by joining El Camino (Calif.) College. [20] He served as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator in his first year, before transitioning to quarterbacks coach in his final season with the team (2007–08). During his tenure, the school won the California Community College State Championship in 2006 and also secured two Mission Conference titles.
During his time at El Camino College, Canales formed a relationship with Pete Carroll, the head coach of the USC Trojans. In 2009, Canales joined Carroll at USC, where he served as an assistant strength coach for one season. [21]
In 2010, Canales followed Carroll after the latter's acceptance of the Seattle Seahawks' head coaching position. [22] He won his first Super Bowl title in 2013 when the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. [23]
Canales spent 13 years with the Seahawks, serving in a variety of capacities on the offensive side of the staff. [24] From 2010 through 2017, he served as wide receivers coach, coaching prominent players such as Golden Tate, Sidney Rice, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, and Tyler Lockett. Canales later took on the roles of quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator from 2018 through 2022. [25] He was credited with assisting in the resurgence of quarterback Geno Smith's career. In the 2022 season, Smith was highly effective as the team's starting quarterback and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year, while also earning his first Pro Bowl appearance. [26]
On February 16, 2023, Canales was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their offensive coordinator under head coach Todd Bowles, replacing Byron Leftwich. [27] In Canales' lone season as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator, the Buccaneers were 23rd in the NFL in yards per game and 20th in points scored. [28] Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield ended the season with 28 touchdown passes, 4,044 passing yards and a 64.3% completion rate, all career highs. [29] He earned his first Pro Bowl nomination. [30] The Buccaneers reached the Divisional Round where they lost to the Detroit Lions, 31–23. [31]
On January 25, 2024, Canales signed a six-year contract to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. [32] [33] He succeeded Chris Tabor, who was interim head coach for only the last six games of the preceding season after succeeding the fired Frank Reich. [34] Prior to Canales's arrival, the Panthers had not had a winning season nor a playoff appearance since 2017. [35]
The Panthers were expected to struggle in what was anticipated to be a rebuilding season, with a new scheme and many new players as well as Bryce Young needing to further his development to prevent him from reaching bust status, [36] Canales led the team to a 5–12 record in the regular season, finishing 3rd in the NFC South division. [37]
On September 22, Canales got his first win as a head coach in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders. [38] This came after a move that was thought by many to be the end of Young's tenure in Carolina, as he was benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. [39] Following Dalton's 4-game losing streak, and an thumb injury in a car accident, Young was elevated to starter again. [40] Performing well enough to hold onto his position the rest of the season. [41]
Canales's work in Carolina had resulted in a successful building season, revitalizing the career of quarterback Bryce Young and with offensive coordinator Brad Idzik improving the team's offensive output by a full 6 points per game from the previous season. [42] The Panthers season ended with a 44–38 win in overtime over the Atlanta Falcons, their best offensive output of the season, and earning the praise of owner David Tepper. [43]
Canales led the team to an 8–9 record in the regular season, winning the NFC South title and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season. [44] The division title came about in a unique way, with the Atlanta Falcons win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 18. [45] In the Panthers' first playoffs appearance in 8 years, they lost by a score of 31–34 to the Los Angeles Rams, surrendering a 4 point lead with 38 seconds remaining. Following the game, Canales said, “As we all know, in this league, there are no moral victories. Today is not about losing this opportunity, but it’s about a team that came together to play really good football and to battle.” [46] The season left many to believe that the Panthers would continue to build on their success the next season. [47]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CAR | 2024 | 5 | 12 | 0 | .294 | 3rd in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| CAR | 2025 | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 1st in NFC South | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Wild Card Game |
| Total | 13 | 21 | 0 | .382 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||
Canales is married to Lizzy Canales, whom he met while attending Azusa Pacific University. They have four children. [48]