The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a magical 2023 season that ended in the Divisional Round at the hands of the Detroit Lions. Now, like the Lions and most good teams in the NFL, the Bucs have to deal with potentially losing coaches due to the team’s success. One such coach is Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales, who has already interviewed for the Carolina Panthers head coach job and may now be one step closer to leaving for an NFC South rival after Dan Morgan got the Panthers general manager job.
Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales Goes Way Back With the New Panthers GM
Billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper was looking to hire a new general manager and head coach this offseason, and he decided to start at the top.
The Panthers submitted 11 general manager interview requests, according to the NFL.com offseason tracker, including one for Buccaneers assistant GM Mike Greenberg. However, Tepper decided to stay in-house, and on Tuesday, Jan. 22, the team officially hired its assistant GM Dan Morgan for the head job.
Dan the man.
This gives even more credence to the speculation that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales is at the top of their NFC South rival’s head coaching list. That’s because Morgan started his climb to the top of an NFL front office as a scouting intern with the Seattle Seahawks back in 2010, according to the Panthers website. Over the next seven years, Morgan climbed the ranks to assistant director of pro personnel and then director of pro personnel.
Also in 2010, a young wide receivers coach showed up in the Pacific Northwest. Canales coached the wideouts, quarterbacks, and was the passing game coordinator in Seattle for the next 12 years after that.
Morgan and Canales were young NFL employees coming up together for a better part of a decade, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the new Panthers GM coveted a reunion with his former coworker.
Canales and a Former Buccaneer Coach Are the Favorites for the Carolina Job
The Panthers are leaving no stone unturned in the franchise’s search for its next head coach.
David Tepper has already gone through six head coaches since buying the team in 2018. He’s fired Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule, and Frank Reich while also letting go the interim head coaches who followed — Perry Fewell, Steve Wilks, Chris Tabor — after their respective seasons.
This time around, it seems as though the Panthers are conducting a slow, methodical, and wide-ranging search for a coach so that Tepper and company actually get it right this time.
Carolina has interviewed 11 head coaching candidates this offseason. Of those candidates, only two currently have a second interview scheduled. And Both have Buccaneers ties.
The two coaches are Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator (and former Buccaneers head coach) Raheem Morris and Dave Canales.
Both these candidates make a lot of sense. Morris is the polar opposite of the last two coaches Tepper has hired. He is an experienced defensive coach who has worked his way back to become a viable HC candidate again after falling down the NFL coaching totem pole. Canales is a young offensive mind who worked magic with Baker Mayfield this season, meaning maybe he could do the same with Bryce Young.
Either Canales or Morris would be solid hires and ones Bucs fans know well. But who is the man (along with Tepper) who will hire the Panthers’ next coach?
Who Is New Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan?
NFL fans of a certain age will remember Dan Morgan going all the way back to 1997 when he became the first Miami Hurricanes middle linebacker to start as a freshman since Ray Lewis. His incredible college career at The U led to the Panthers taking him No. 11 overall in the 2001 NFL Draft.
Morgan played seven seasons with the Panthers before injuries ended his Panthers career and stopped his New Orleans Saints tenure before it ever got started. Due to these injuries, the LB only played 59 games in the NFL. Still, he put up 390 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 17 passes defended, and 5 interceptions. He also made the Pro Bowl in 2004.
After hanging up his cleats, Morgan joined the Seahawks front office, as discussed above. From there, he spent time with the Buffalo Bills and general manager Brandon Beane before returning to his roots in Carolina for the 2021 campaign and beyond.
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Buccaneers OC Dave Canales 1 Step Closer to Panthers After His Old Friend Gets GM Job?