Panthers Hire Dave Canales Hoping He Can Turn Bryce Young Into New & Improved Baker Mayfield

The Carolina Panthers are reportedly set to hire Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as their new head coach. Quarterback Bryce Young now has his third different head coach since the team drafted him in April.

That's according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The team hired its new GM, former Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan, earlier this week. Morgan and Canales worked together in Seattle from 2010-2017, giving the pair a familiarity as they look to build Carolina back from being the worst team in the NFL this season.

A major factor in the decision to hire Canales had to be Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. Young struggled mightily in his rookie season. Carolina owner David Tepper fired head coach Frank Reich, who he felt wasn't getting the best out of Young, before the end of his first season.

The team turns to Canales, who helped Baker Mayfield regain the form that made him the #1 overall pick in 2018. Mayfield struggled towards the end of his tenure in Cleveland before bouncing around the league and finally landing with the Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales talks with quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask during training camp. (Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Not only did Mayfield and the Buccaneers win the NFC South, but they won a Wild Card playoff game, as well.

Panthers hire Dave Canales thanks to his past success with undersized quarterbacks like Bryce Young

Canales knows the NFC South well, which also helped his candidacy. Canales was previously the quarterbacks coach in Seattle and helped Geno Smith capture the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2022.

He spent the majority of his coaching career in Seattle with Pete Carroll and Russel Wilson. That gives him a lot of experience working with undersized, athletic quarterbacks.

When Reich was hired, I wrote a deep-dive into his history coaching quarterbacks. Reich never worked with a QB under 6'2" and generally only worked with those 6'4" or taller.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young struggled in his rookie season under head coach Frank Reich. (Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

He struggled to coax the best out of Young, who stands 5'10". Russell Wilson, who won a Super Bowl in Seattle while Canales was there, is just 5'11" and has a lot of the same characteristics as Young.

Baker Mayfield, though slightly taller, is also considered relatively undersized. Clearly, that's not a problem for Canales.

I've given David Tepper a lot of grief in the past for his terrible management. That still stands. However, hiring Morgan and Canales makes a lot of sense.

The question is whether or not Tepper can just let them do their jobs and not mettle. That's the real challenge facing the Carolina Panthers.