Dave Canales Discusses Challenge of Facing Todd Bowles, Liam Coen Ahead of First Game vs. Bucs

For Dave Canales, this weekend's game vs. the Bucs presents a unique opportunity to kill multiple birds with one stone.

Nov 24, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; arolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales watches his defense against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Despite a rocky start to his first season as an NFL head coach, former Bucs' offensive coordinator Dave Canales, has done a solid job recalibrating the Carolina Panthers as the season has moved along.

The Panthers went 0-8 to start the season but have since managed to win two of their last three games, with that one loss coming against the league-leading Kansas City Chiefs, who required a last-second field goal to get the job done.

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With the Panthers surging, and last year's first-overall pick Bryce Young finally looking like an NFL quarterback, momentum is certainly on Carolina's side.

But there's at least a chance that Canales and his team have more than just momentum working in their favor. Is it possible that Canales actually has a slight advantage facing off against his former team, who is led by his former boss, Todd Bowles? After all, Canales spent an entire year studying his philosophies, discussing concepts, and competing against (and alongside) his defense.

It's possible, but Canales refused to acknowledge anything of the sort when he was asked about it by Carolina beat reporters earlier this week. Instead, he chose to highlight the positive aspects of his former head coach's approach.

"There's some familiarity but knowing coach Bowles, he's got a really sophisticated system and he attacks each team with a specific game plan. So there's some principles that carry over but I know he's going to have some things up his sleeve, and I fully expect that."

Canales also went out of his way to offer some praise to the coach who has replaced him in Tampa Bay in the Bucs' current offensive coordinator, Liam Coen.

"Liam Coen is doing a great job with Baker and the whole group and just mixing up the different things that they do. Under center, in the gun, a lot of variety, a really cool offense to watch. We've watched a lot of crossover tape so, there's a bunch of good stuff coming out of Tampa and we've got our work cut out for us this week."

Although Canales was asked to elaborate on what Coen is doing differently than what Canales did last season, he didn't bite.

"I don't want to get into specifics about the scheme" he responded.

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It was respectful of Canales to acknowledge Todd Bowles' strengths despite how bad his former coaching partner's defense has been this season. In turn, it would be blasphemous to praise Bowles without also bringing up Liam Coen, who is without question one of the biggest reasons why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers even have a chance at making the postseason in 2024.

For Dave Canales, Sunday's game vs. the Bucs presents a unique opportunity to kill multiple birds with one stone. Not only would a victory for the Panthers improve his record as a head coach, but it would also squash the playoff hopes of a division rival, his former team, the man who gave him his first coordinator job, and the offensive coach who was hand-picked to replace him.

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