To say that Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are rooting against Dave Canales would be the understatement of the year. Canales left the Bucs after just one year as their offensive coordinator and, to make matters worse, he did so to take a job with a division rival becoming the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Canales knew he'd have his work cut out for him in Carolina but that didn't stop him from leaving Tampa and Baker Mayfield to head to Charlotte so he could try to coach up Bryce Young. It's been pretty hit-or-miss for the most part, as, at times, Young has looked like he's improving under Canales' tutelage. Other times, he's looked like a big ol' bust.
In the Panthers' hysterical 10-point loss to an atrocious Saints team, it was the latter for Young. The Saints defensive game plan was to make Young beat them and, lo and behold, it worked. The poor performance continued to show that Young and the Panthers offense were incapable of putting together explosive plays and that's something Canales addressed after the loss. He didn't mince words either.
"In general, I think it's a group effort. Calling more of them, yes, let's get some more opportunities. We'd love to have those explosive plays come alive. I will call them more when we have more success when those things come alive for us. We have to keep working together. We have to keep taking those shots in practice to make sure we feel comfortable with them."
Dave Canales on calling more explosive pass plays: “I’ll call them more when we have more success and those things come to life for us.”#Panthers pic.twitter.com/U7J7jRs12S
— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) November 10, 2025
Dave Canales may have accidentally revealed how much he misses Baker Mayfield
You know someone that wouldn't have a hard time executing explosive plays under Canales? You might have heard of him, his name is Baker Mayfield and he plays quarterback for the Buccaneers. Canales and Mayfield made magic happen on the field together in 2023 and that magic helped get Canales the Panthers head coaching job. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't bring Mayfield with him to Charlotte and that's shown with the offense Canales is working with.
In two years on the job, Canales and the Panthers have gone an underwhelming 10-17 and Young doesn't look to be all that much better than he did a year ago. When he's forced to win the game without a run game to help him, he fails to step up to the plate and execute and that was on full display last weekend.
Canales' frustration is the absolute perfect music to Bucs fans' ears and everyone is hoping that the Panthers continue to underwhelm and leave him regretting his decision to leave. This continues to be pure cinema for Bucs fans so fingers crossed it continues!