Back when the Bucs hired Dave Canales to be the team’s offensive coordinator, they did so with the belief that his energy would be a net positive within the building. That he could find new ways to invigorate the guys and get them to buy in.

Throughout the offseason and up to now, one can sense that Canales is different. Not just different than Byron Leftwich, his predecessor, but different than nearly any other coach in football in the way he motivates, energizes, and uses his faith to help him work through the struggles and see every day as getting a new set of downs.

Dave Canales Has A “First-and-10” Mindset

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Adam Slivon/PR

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Dave Canales was asked how he keeps such a positive attitude. Every time he talks, one can sense his positive energy and the refreshing manner in which he approaches obstacles and challenges. For him, it starts with how he sees each day as a blessing.

“First, my faith,” Canales said. “Every day is a blessing. I wake up every morning, I kind of like to say this kidding with some of the guys, but I wake up every morning and the sticks say first-and-10. I’ve got a new set of downs and how good does that feel in a game? It’s the same thing for me – I wake up and I have another opportunity to do this: to be with you, to be with all of those guys. Just seeing guys in the hallway, being outside in the sun today, it’s such a blessing to me. Then, I’ve got a vision for where we can go and what we can become as a group with the talent that we have.”

Back in December of 2021, Dave Canales sat down with former Bucs head coach Tony Dungy on “Beyond The Game.” Dungy, himself known for his faith and how he used it to inspire and command the respect of his players, talked with Canales plenty about his as well as his highs and lows and time coaching up to that point. It is definitely worth a watch to learn about his beginnings and how he sees life off the field.

Obstacles Do Not Deter Dave Canales

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On the field, Dave Canales knows that the Bucs’ offense is not yet where he wants it to be. He recently spoke on some of the challenges that the group has faced so far. They are ones he recognizes, but he has confidence they will work themselves out with the offensive talent at every position.

“A lot of the issues that you’re talking about, they’re real and it weighs heavy on me but it doesn’t deter me because I see this unit coming together with the skill outside, the special players outside, this group of running backs that are going to grow into what we want, and this offensive line that really we have the talent to do whatever we want to,” Canales added. “That thought propels me forward through a rough game like Monday night, that, ‘Hey, we needed this experience to see, guys. We’ve had three games where we haven’t been sharp. When you play a really good team, this is how the outcome could be.’ As opposed to you play teams that we had a little bit of an edge on and we made some big plays that really saved us in those games. You don’t always want to just rely on the big plays, right? We want to be able to walk the ball down the field with confidence and be efficient.”

It is clear that Dave Canales cares about the offense and that it is his one true mission to get them on the same page and successful. Each game is an experience to learn from, an opportunity to work on problems and weaknesses until they become solutions and strengths to put points on the board in bunches.

These are the goals of any offensive coordinator, but how Canales goes about solving them is uncommon, especially relative to other coordinators across the league.

Dave Canales Visualizes Solutions To Problems Differently Than Others

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

How coaches get players (and themselves) fired up often leads to bestselling books or unforgettable quotes. In fact, Dave Canales often posts or reposts motivational messages on his X account throughout the week. Everyone does it in their own way, but how Canales discusses problems and visualizes solutions compared to other offensive coordinators is strikingly different.

Take for instance Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. After Washington only scored 3 points against the Bills, Bieniemy vocalized his methods of fixing the offense’s struggles in a completely different manner.

“My job is to make sure we’re doing everything to help us to drag our ass across the finish line,” Bieniemy said. “Obviously, I ain’t do a great job — whether we threw the ball or whether we ran it. Obviously, we didn’t do enough. So, my job is to make sure that, you know what? That doesn’t happen again. My job is to clean up the s–t and we continue moving forward.”

It is not to say one method of motivation leads to better results than another per se. Both the Bucs and Commanders are 2-1, and coincidentally both have averaged exactly 19.3 points per game this season. It is clear, however, that Dave Canales will always approach obstacles differently than other offensive coordinators, and that leads to a perspective that is unique in coaching.