Panthers coach Dave Canales revealed two years ago how he witnessed Todd Bowles' steady leadership overcome adversity and rally a team. Can Bowles do it again this season?
Once upon a time, the guy trying to take the NFC South from Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worked on Bowles' staff.
Before becoming the Carolina Panthers' head coach in 2024, Dave Canales was the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator for a season.
That was Baker Mayfield's first season in Tampa. During that season, Canales helped Mayfield have a career renaissance, throwing for over 4,000 yards for the first time and ending the year with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Now, Mayfield blames himself for the Bucs' woes (five losses in six games), and a lot of other people blame Bowles.
But Canales had plenty of positive things to say about Mayfield.
He had this to say about facing Bowles' defense.
"If I get into a game where I’m chasing Todd’s calls, it’s gonna be a long day," Canales said of Bowles, who is also Tampa's defensive coordinator.
Canales knows Bowles can work through adversity because he's seen him do it.
In 2023, Tampa was 4-7, but rallied to win five of its last six and make the playoffs.
“I think I’ve talked about this before with Coach Bowles," Canales said in December 2023, "is his consistency. I think that I’ve just watched him – with the ebbs and flows of the season, the roller coaster that this season has been – to watch him just be steady and to be the same guy with the same message to the team, same message to the staff, the same belief.
“Even through that four-game losing streak, for him to talk to the guys after the games in the locker room and say, ‘Guys, if this was an effort problem, I’d be really concerned, but you guys are playing so hard,’ and just reaffirming the good parts of what our group means and the character of this team."
First and foremost, I want to make Coach [Todd] Bowles proud,” Canales said. “I want to make him right…[He is] just a guy who believed in me and gave me a shot. For me, it’s about grinding, working hard, and trying to prove him right. Jason Licht, too, and the whole group – it means a lot to me, it’s important. As we approach every week and as I challenge the guys, the other part of it is I want to build something that they can be proud of. I want to build something that guys can say, ‘This is who we are. This is the [Buccaneers].’ We’ve had a couple of those statement games.”
The Bucs and Panthers will battle Sunday with first place on the line.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 in Charlotte.