Carolina also wants to talk to a member of the Bucs front office.

I mean, it was bound to happen. With the success the Bucs have seen this season on offense and with the career numbers quarterback Baker Mayfield hit in 2023, offensive coordinator Dave Canales was going to be viewed as a hot commodity for a head coaching gig at some point.

To some degree, that time is now.

The Carolina Panthers have requested to interview Canales for their head coaching vacancy. It’ll be his first of what many feel will be many throughout his career.

But Canales isn’t the only one. Carolina posted their full list of candidates they’d like to talk to.

— Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
— Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik
— Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan
— Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
— Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald
— Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith
— Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris
— Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken

The Panthers are also in search of a new general manager and are looking within Tampa Bay to fill that position as well.

The team has requested to interview Bucs assistant general manager Mike Greenberg, Tampa Bay’s salary cap wizard.

For now, they are just requests and Carolina has a long road ahead to filling those spots. And while it may be a long road until January 22 for in-person interviews, the team does note that zoom interviews can at least be conducted well before then.