Is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Top Trio Doomed to Fail Without Coach Dave Canales?

According to some, Dave Canales was the engine that made the Buccaneers offense hum, and without him things may go flat.

Jul 30, 2023; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales talks with quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) and quarterback Kyle Trask (2) during training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Every preseason the crew over at CBS Sports sets out to rank the top trios for teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the top three offensive players around the rest of the league.

The trio can be made up of any top player on a team's roster from the quarterback, running back, and receiver and tight end positions, but must include one from each, meaning Baker Mayfield is automatically considered in the mix for the Buccaneers.

From there, CBS Sports identifies running back Rachaad White as the top back for Tampa Bay and Mike Evans as the top receiver or tight end. We'd have to agree with them.

That trio, as beloved as it is by Bucs fans, is No. 21 in the NFL according to CBS Sports' rankings.

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"I am similarly skeptical that the Bucs should be this high," writes Jared Dubin. "But we saw what happened with Geno Smith under Dave Canales two years ago, and then what happened when Canales left for Tampa last year. What's to say the same won't happen with Mayfield? And White has been a solid pass-catcher, but a wildly inefficient runner. Evans is a modern marvel and you can mark him down for 1,000 yards and close to double-digit touchdowns right now, but even he shouldn't be carrying these guys this high."

A lot of Buccaneers fans and locals are going to be stunned that No. 21 is being discussed as 'too high' a ranking considering the team is coming off an NFC South Division title and trip to the second round of the NFL Playoffs.

Making it to the elite eight of the most competitive league in all of major sports shouldn't be discounted, and thinking coach Canales represents a single point of failure among the group is borderline lunacy.

Two years ago, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith re-burst onto the national stage with 4,282 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl and the Seahawks went 9-8. Last year, without Canales, Smith plummeted all the way down to 3,624 yards passing, 20 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, again making it to the Pro Bowl.

However, Smith's pass attempts also went down by 73 without Canales and the team finished with one fewer win.

So it's not the drastic decrease some might think, and in fact, Smith's yards per completion actually went up.

The disaster theory surrounding Canales' departure is as misguided as it is disrespectful the remaining coaches and players, and the job general manager Jason Licht did of bringing back so many Tampa Bay contributors that even safety Jordan Whitehead is back where he belonged all along.

And let's not forget that new offensive coordinator Liam Coen was part of the staff that built the Los Angeles Rams offense that would eventually win the Super Bowl one year after the Bucs' most recent title run, even if his one year stint with the Kentucky Wildcats cost the coach a Super Bowl ring.

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