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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ search for their next offensive coordinator is finally over.
The news of this hire prompted Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith to go to Twitter to sound off about the move.
“@DcoachCanales well deserved!!” tweeted Smith.
According to a tweet from Albert Breer, this move came shortly after the Bucs lost out on Todd Monken, who elected to take the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator position.
“The Ravens have hired Georgia OC Todd Monken to be their new offensive coordinator. Monken turned down the Bucs job, but still wanted to get back to the pros, and was sought after the last few weeks.,” tweeted Breer. “Bulldogs could dip back into the NFL, like they did w/Monken, to replace him. ”
Who Exactly is Dave Canales?
For those of you that aren’t familiar with who Dave Canales is, well then it’s time to fill you in.
Canales is a former member of the Azusa Pacific Cougars football team, playing wide receiver from 1999-2003.
Shortly after his playing days were done, Canales found himself as a member of the USC coaching staff under Pete Carroll in 2009.
From there, he would move from the collegiate ranks to the pros when Carroll left the Trojans to become the next head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2010.
Canales would wear multiple hats on the staff throughout his 13 seasons in Seattle, which included time as the wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.
And while Canales certainly had his impact on the offense during the Russell Wilson era, he likely caught the eyes of teams in need of an offensive coordinator because of his success working with Geno Smith last season.
Smith posted career highs in passing yards (4,282), passing touchdowns (30), and QBR (60.8) last season on his way to being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
This career year from Smith helped produce a surprising run to the playoffs from the Seahawks, who saw their season end in the Wild Card round against the San Francisco 49ers by way of a 41-23 loss on January 14.
Could This Hire Lure New Quarterbacks to Tampa Bay?
One interesting scenario that could be in play now is the two soon-to-be unrestricted free agent quarterbacks that Canales just worked with in Seattle being the potential heir apparent Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.
The aforementioned Smith is set to hit the free agent market in March but is likely looking to cash in big on the open market fresh off of his career year. He has previously stated that he wants to stay with the Seahawks, but with Seattle holding the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft they could decide to take one of the top quarterback prospects instead of paying the market price for a 32-year-old quarterback.
Another name the Bucs could consider bringing in to compete with quarterback Kyle Trask would be Drew Lock.
Lock was traded to the Seahawks last offseason as part of the Russell Wilson trade with the Denver Broncos.
Lock has flashed some potential during his time under center, but failed to hold onto his starting job with the Broncos and lost the quarterback competition to Smith last offseason.
Lock has thrown for 4,740 yards to go with 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions over his four-year career in the NFL.
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