Getty Dave Canales is on the hot seat in Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales hasn’t sufficiently revived the offense, and the organization could go a different direction in 2024.
If the Buccaneers fire Canales after one season, Philadelphia Eagles associate head coach Kevin Patullo could take the reins. FanSided Pewter Plank writer Ryan Heckman predicts that move as one of four possibilities for the Buccaneers after Canales.
“The issues have been all over the board, including on offense, where the Bucs rank in the bottom third of the league in scoring,” Heckman wrote. “One would think it should be pretty simple: get the ball to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin while giving touches to Rachaad White in space. But, the Bucs offense has been middling at best this year.”
Patullo helps run the third-highest scoring offense in the NFL amid his move up from passing game coordinator to associate head coach. The Eagles average 28.2 points and 364.3 total yards per game.
Kevin Patullo has apparently been confused for Nick Sirianni on multiple occasions in the past.
“That, alone, should show plenty of faith in him and his leadership skills to be considered for a head coaching gig down the line,” Heckman wrote about Patullo’s promotion. “The next step, though, is to become an offensive coordinator.”
“[Jalen] Hurts and the Eagles offense have been one of the best units in football the last couple of seasons, both in the run and passing game,” Heckman wrote. “Patullo, along with Brian Johnson and Alex Tanney (quarterbacks coach) have done a great job with Hurts’ development. He’s become one of the top quarterbacks in all of football thanks to their direction.”
3 Other Options for the Buccaneers to Replace Dave Canales
Heckman also considered Ken Dorsey, Josh McCown, and Chris O’Hara as three other options for the Buccaneers in place of Canales.
Dorsey, who formerly served as offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills, had his share of success with quarterback Josh Allen before the recent firing, Heckman noted. The Bills scored 455 points last season with Dorsey as the offensive coordinator and more than 480 points each of the previous two seasons when he served on the offensive staff.
McCown, the former Carolina Panthers quarterbacks coach, formerly played for the Buccaneers as a quarterback in 2014. He has nearly two decades of NFL experience as a player and coach as Heckman noted.
O’Hara, the Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach, has ties to the Sean McVay coaching tree from a prior stint with the Los Angeles Rams, Heckman highlighted. With the Vikings’ top-four passing game, O’Hara had success working with quarterback Kirk Cousins before a season-ending injury, Heckman wrote.
Dave Canales is Well Aware That He’s on the Hot Seat
Canales made no bones about how public criticism of his performance has affected him personally. He addressed it when a reporter asked the question during Thursday’s press conference.
“This is the first time where, really, my wife and my kids — they go to school and they’ve got a bunch of friends that are [Buccaneers] fans…Usually people are pretty gracious, but kids can be brutal,” Canales said. “We’re learning about that.”
“We really just take an honest approach to it. My daughter, she’s 13, but she really knows football pretty well and she knows when we’re playing [well] or not,” Canales continued. “We’ve had these honest conversations.”