The Panthers and Commanders have each been linked to placing Ben Johnson as their top HC candidate. Considering Carolina’s situation and David Tepper‘s recent actions, the team would seemingly need to extend a big payout to win a tiebreaker. In the event Johnson again spurns Carolina, the team looks to have another offensive staffer in mind.
Long connected to once again seeking an offense-oriented head coach, the Panthers have been impressed with Buccaneers OC Dave Canales, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who indicates he is a serious contender to become the next Panthers HC. Canales is set for a second interview for the Carolina job.
The NFC’s second divisional-round matchup pitted two ascending OCs against one another, and while Johnson’s Lions won, Baker Mayfield‘s bounce-back season undeniably helped Canales’ stock. Canales was the Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach in 2022, overseeing Geno Smith‘s shocking resurgence that secured him Comeback Player of the Year honors. Mayfield subsequently completed a turnaround season in Tampa, rising from last in QBR in 2022 to moving the Bucs — their substantial 2023 dead money notwithstanding — to the divisional round.
Mayfield shredded a reeling Eagles defense in the Bucs’ wild-card rout and is now firmly on the radar for an extension. It would be a blow for the Bucs to lose Canales; the rookie OC, though, is only in contention for one of the HC positions. The Seahawks, Chargers and Commanders have not met with the 42-year-old staffer. Neither did the Raiders, Patriots or Titans. It seems some level of doubt exists on Canales, with Johnson being a more popular candidate after two years as Lions OC.
The Panthers have DC Ejiro Evero and Rams DC Raheem Morris joining Canales in being set for second interviews. Johnson interviewed with the team over the weekend; as of now, no second interview is scheduled. The Commanders, who are scheduling a second Johnson meeting, boast a superior outlook compared to the Panthers presently. They are free of Dan Snyder and hold the No. 2 overall pick (whereas the Panthers traded the No. 1 choice to the Bears) to go with the NFL’s most cap space. But Tepper is the NFL’s second-richest owner, giving Carolina an advantage on that front.
If Canales lands the Carolina job, Tampa Bay may look in-house to replace him. QBs coach Thad Lewis will be considered for the post in that event, ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Caplan notes. A Bruce Arians hire, Lewis just finished his first season as the Bucs’ QBs coach. He spent the 2021 and ’22 seasons as the team’s assistant wide receivers coach, but the ex-NFL QB’s work with Mayfield does not look to have gone unnoticed. Though, no team has yet reached out about an OC interview.
Great Googly Moogly
Caneles has great potential sure…but 1 year as an OC calling plays. They are reaching badly, I guess all the other candidates don’t trust that terrible owner.
I would say exactly the same, as you, AncientOne. I agree that Johnson and Canales have both put together great showings, but let’s remember that they’ve also only been coordinators for three years combined. I obviously expect coordinators, especially young ones, to leave after the first instance of success, but let’s also remember that these resumes aren’t very long, either.
Canales and Slowik have both have great years (I’m particularly impressed by Slowik’s adaptable playcalling), but this is rather fast to consider them ready for an HC spot. It’s fast even for Johnson, who has twice the experience at a mere two years. Whomever hires them as headmen right now must expect them to learn on the job themselves, in addition to hoping that 2023 was the norm and not an outlier success-wise. I understand how the NFL works these days, but I would also posit that the number of short term coaches today is partially tied to how unproven the candidates are in terms of success and experience, as well.
Hello all! It has been a while! Im curious if any of my old buddies from the Raheem Morris days are still on here. IDK if anyone remembers me, by my user name was TRUETAMPAFAN. I created a new account. It has indeed been a long time and I hope all of you are well.
Panthers would be making a huge mistake if they hire a first time HC and it isn’t Eviro…
In other news, the grass is green and the sky is blue…
They’d be better off allowing Eviro to continue running their solid defense, and then just hiring and overpaying for someone to have free reign and full control running their offense.
That would probably make too much sense, though.