Dave Canales

Dave Canales is the head coach of the Carolina Panthers in the National Football League, serving as the seventh head coach in franchise history. Canales, a former wide receiver and two-time captain at Azusa Pacific University, began his coaching career at Carson High School in California before moving to the college level as a special teams and tight ends coach at El Camino College.

Canales joined the Seattle Seahawks, where he held several roles including wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, and passing game coordinator. During his tenure with the Seahawks, the organization made 10 playoff appearances, won two conference championships, and secured a Super Bowl XLVIII title. As quarterbacks coach, Canales worked with Geno Smith, who earned his first career Pro Bowl selection and Comeback Player of the Year honors, leading the NFL in completion percentage and setting career highs in completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.

As offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Canales contributed to a career resurgence for quarterback Baker Mayfield, helping the team win an NFC South title and advance to the playoffs. Mayfield threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns, both career highs. Canales’s work with Smith and Mayfield established him as a prominent offensive strategist in professional football.

Upon joining the Panthers, Canales became the only active Hispanic head coach in the league and only the fifth in NFL history. In his first season, the Panthers improved by three wins, tied for the sixth-best improvement in the NFL and the best among all first-time head coaches that year. Canales also guided quarterback Bryce Young to a career-high 21 total touchdowns. His approach to player development, offensive innovation, and team culture has positioned him as a significant figure in the NFL coaching community.

In 2024, Canales and his wife, Lizzy, co-authored the book "This Marriage? The Question That Changed Everything," which details how Canales has worked to overcome issues of infidelity, addiction to pornography, and binge drinking to find his way back to a healthy, Christian-based marriage. The couple wrote the book to help other couples struggling with marriage and help them start the journey towards healing and strengthening their relationship.