Dave Canales Gets High Praise From Mentor Pete Carroll

There’s probably no better person to talk to at the NFL Combine to learn more about new Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales than the man who gave him his start – Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

The Bucs have hired Canales after both an impressive interview and belief in his offensive system. But not many in the building new much about Canales before the process began. Carroll brought in Canales as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in his final year at USC in 2009. That continued when Caroll went to the Seahawks in 2010 and Canales stayed on the staff in different roles all the way up to last season before taking this role with the Bucs. That’s 14 years spent together coaching football.

On Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, the ever upbeat Carroll explained what type of coach the Bucs are getting in Canales and what he really loves about him.

“He is one of the young guns,” Carroll said. “He’s one of the guys we see coming through the league that has that connection to creativity, freedom of thought, openness that allow for so many good young guys to make it. We see it whether they’re play callers or whether they’re head coaches, it’s happening, it’s a really cool element to see guys express their ability. Dave is one of the guys that fits right in with that. He’s been so deeply involved with us that he is us.

“We talk the same language, we see things the same, we evaluate the same, we have the backlog of stories that we’ve shared and what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown. For me, I’ve always gone to him and communicated with him because he has great vision and great insights and he works really really well with people. So he’s been an integral part of our process along the way. To me, he’s going to be highly successful. I don’t see anything but that. I love the connection, I’ll root for him. I might be a little on that side.”

Jason Licht, Todd Bowles Discuss Hiring Dave Canales

It was also the first time since Canales has been on board with the Bucs that we got to hear from general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles about the new addition.

“Well, Todd interviewed a lot of candidates and I was part of it,” Licht said. “They all brought something really really good to the table, they had a lot of good traits and things that we liked. Dave in particular, a lot of energy, he’s very confident, he comes from a great system, he had a lot of core beliefs that we liked and he’s got plans. He’s got a plan, he’s very prepared, we’re very excited about what he can bring to the table for us.”

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

“Heard a lot about him from a lot of other coaches,” Bowles said. “I know he interviewed with Baltimore twice and he did a good job there. He was somebody I asked to talk to and once I started talking to him, the more interested I got. We interviewed [him] twice. Great personality, very positive coach, highly intelligent, can play a bunch of different schemes. He’ll be a good fit for the building. I think he’s a good culture fit as well, as well as a heck of a person. He’s a very smart coach and I think he’ll fit in well with what we’re trying to do.”

The biggest convincing point for Bowles was Canales’ response to being willing to adjust when certain calls weren’t working right.

“Heard a lot about him from a lot of other coaches,” Bowles said. “I know he interviewed with Baltimore twice and he did a good job there. He was somebody I asked to talk to and once I started talking to him, the more interested I got. We interviewed [him] twice. Great personality, very positive coach, highly intelligent, can play a bunch of different schemes. He’ll be a good fit for the building. I think he’s a good culture fit as well, as well as a heck of a person. He’s a very smart coach and I think he’ll fit in well with what we’re trying to do.”