Buccaneers' Former Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales Speaks on Baker Mayfield

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers' OC Dave Canales spoke on his former quarterback Baker Mayfield on an appearance on Good Morning Football.

The NFL head coaching carousel has come to an end now that all of the 32 teams have now found their guy. One of those moves was made by the Carolina Panthers when they decided to hire their NFC South rivals' offensive coordinator, Buccaneers' Dave Canales.

Canales may be heading to one of the Bucs' rivals, but he will have his work cut out for him as the Panthers were one of the worst teams in the league in 2023. Despite making the move to Charlotte, North Carolina, Canales won't easily forget his one-year calling plays in Tampa Bay or the players that helped the Bucs be as successful as they were in 2023.

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During an appearance on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, the former Buccaneers' OC sat down with co-host Kyle Brandt and discussed current Bucs' quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“What a stud!” Canales said. “You know, I didn’t know him [when Bucs signed him]. I just watched his story from afar.”

“The first thing we did was just sit down and spent hours getting to know each other. To hear the road, the journey he had been on.”

“When I got there in Tampa, in Baker, [I] saw this guy who was really self-aware and was reflective on his career on the challenges and struggles he found,” Canales said.

Canales went on to describe his intentions of bringing back the personality that Baker has shown over the course of his football career - something that he had lost since the end of his tenure with the Cleveland Browns and short stint with the Carolina Panthers before somewhat regaining that part of him at the end of the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Rams.

“For me, it was about bringing the joys and the passion of football back into his life,” Canales said. “He’s really such a vibrant, such a great leader.”

“Especially in just terms of connecting with his guys and really reaching out and touching every part of the team, not just the offensive side,” Canales said. “We just had this tough, gritty guy that was willing to connect and that saw us through some times in the season.”

Canales' words about Mayfield are telling from a number of different perspectives. He was able to get Baker back on track of who he is as a person and as a result, Baker was able to help the Buccaneers get back to the playoffs with his confident play.

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Without both Canales and Baker working together it's likely that neither would be experiencing the good fortune they are right now with Canales landing a head coaching gig in just one season ever calling plays at the professional level, and for Baker, he is in line to receive a decent payday when he hits free agency this offseason after playing 2023 on a team-friendly, prove-it deal.

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