Carolina Panthers new coach excites Charlotte’s Hispanic community: ‘He’s one of us’

When he heard who the Carolina Panthers had hired as their next head coach, one thing in particular caught Jaime Moreno’s attention:

The coach’s name.

His last name, to be precise.

“Dave Canales, his name is very easy to connect with the community, especially the Hispanic community,” said Moreno, the play-by-play voice of the Carolina Panthers’ Spanish radio broadcast. “And I think more people are going to be interested to know who this guy is.”

Formerly the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Canales was announced as the Carolina Panthers’ seventh coach in franchise history Thursday evening. There is a lot to like about the 42-year-old play-caller. Among the many things: He supervised the resurgence of two veteran quarterbacks in back-to-back years — Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay — and he has a previous working relationship with the Panthers’ newly promoted general manager Dan Morgan, the two men tasked with leading a rebuild that’s overdue.

But to Hispanic NFL fans — in Charlotte, and beyond — the hiring of Canales means more.

“For us, how we see it,” Moreno told The Charlotte Observer, “he’s one of us.”

Canales is Mexican American and the fifth head coach of Latino descent in NFL history. He was born in Harbor City, Los Angeles, Calif., and his paternal grandparents, Miguel and Lupe, were born in Mexico, traveled to the United States and enlisted in the U.S. Army, according to a story on Buccaneers.com. Canales is the second Hispanic head coach in Panthers’ franchise history, and it’s likely that he will be the only Hispanic head coach in the NFL in 2024.

The fact that he’ll soon be part of the Charlotte community — home to a thriving and growing Latino population that has played a role in the Charlotte metro area’s recent and rapid growth — is something that people take a lot of pride in.

“When I see someone with Latino descent having these types of opportunities in the NFL, it makes me feel proud and represented,” said Antonio Ramos, Moreno’s analytical partner in the radio booth. Ramos and Moreno are both natives of Mexico. “We share the same love for football. We are trying to create our own paths in this industry. Maybe it’s through coaching, or as a player, or as a scout, or in the broadcasting area, even refereeing. We all have a story to tell.

“But when you think about Hispanic families in the United States, it doesn’t matter where you come from. It’s all about hard work, and being humble, and fighting for dreams, just like your family did when they moved to America for the first time.”

Ramos said that he and Moreno are in a large group chat of Panthers fans from places around the world.

“I had a lot of fans reacting to the news,” he said. “’Do you know if he speaks Spanish?’ Or maybe, ‘Where are his grandparents from? Maybe they’re from the same city I live in now.’ ...

“Those little details, those connections, make you feel closer to the team. So I hope Dave can bring that to our community here in Charlotte, in the Carolinas, and even abroad.”

Carolina Panthers fans ready for Dave Canales arrival

Count Erika Moulton in the camp of being excited for Canales’ arrival.

Moulton is a franchise PSL owner and longtime member of Roaring Riot, the largest Panthers supporters group. She said she was working when she received an email from the Panthers announcing that they had just hired Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator — and she remembers the first thing she thought.

“I was especially excited because any time you can stick it to a division rival, it’s the best,” Moulton told The Observer with a laugh on Monday.

Moulton, 48, moved to North Carolina in 1998 after living in Puerto Rico and Colombia. She’s been a fan ever since. Every home game she attends, she wears a shirt with a flag stitched on — one that merges the design of the Puerto Rican flag with the colors and logo of the Panthers team logo: “I wear my Hispanic pride at every game.”

“It’s wonderful to see somebody who shares part of your culture,” Moulton continued. “I’m not Mexican, I’m Puerto Rican and Colombian, but it’s nice to see somebody part of your culture in a position you admire, and obviously with a team that has your heart and soul.”

She’s not alone.

Alfredo Rodriguez, 25, runs the X account @PanthersEspanol and also writes articles in Spanish about the team and his fandom on an independent website.

Rodriguez is a Raleigh native, but lived most of his life in Mexico. His father, also named Alfredo, introduced the NFL to him when he was 8 years old and made an assertion that has followed him all his life: “This is where you were born, so this is the team that you’re going to root for.”

Rodriguez has since moved to Seattle and works as a software engineer, but his Panthers fandom is undeniable. When he heard the Panthers were hiring Canales last week, he was happy by how many excited Panthers fans he heard from.

“It’s good to finally have that alignment between the GM and the head coach, to finally be in sync,” Rodriguez said, which was one of the many positive qualities he listed Canales potentially bringing to the position on Monday. “And you know, the cool part on top of all this is the representation aspect of it. He’s of Mexican descent, and that helps make a connection with the community.

“One of the interesting things: There’s a lot of (Latino fandom) that has grown a lot ever since Charlotte FC was there. So it’s also a great opportunity for the Panthers to work on that connection as well.”

Canales, Ron Rivera forever linked to Panthers

The Panthers’ hire hasn’t just sparked hope and excitement for the fan base. It’s inspired hope, too.

Take Tyson Fernandez. He is a history and Latin American Studies teacher at Rocky River High School in Mint Hill, and spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the school’s football team. And while he is a New York Jets fan — he was born in Manhattan, the son of two parents who immigrated to America from the Dominican Republic — his wife and in-laws are all from Charlotte and are die-hard Panthers fans, he said, which has rubbed off on him a bit.

He’s loved learning about Canales’ journey the past few days, too, he said.

“He has a really, really awesome story of being a high school coach, getting on with Pete Carroll at USC and then following him to Seattle and going through his trek and grinding it out,” he said, adding, “I know there are a lot of times of, if you ask him, that he’s probably had second thoughts or doubts, considering the sacrifices he and his family had to make, especially being Hispanic in a sport that you barely see any Spanish players at all.”

Fernandez knows that experience well. He played football in high school in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. It wasn’t until he arrived at App State when he saw his first Hispanic coach — Frank Ponce, App State’s offensive coordinator, a stalwart trailblazer in his own right.

“The chance to see someone in that position proves that it can be done,” Fernandez said. He added, “With Dave, he’s going to be welcomed here for sure. Being that we had Ron Rivera as well, another Hispanic coach here in Charlotte. I mean I think it’s going to be awesome, a lot of fun.”

Speaking of Ron Rivera: The Panthers’ coach from 2011 to 2019, who also is of Latin American heritage, told The Charlotte Observer on Friday that while he doesn’t know Canales well, he’s more than willing to be a mentor to him, much like John Madden was for him when he first got the head job.

When asked if he was happy that there is another Hispanic head coach in the league, Rivera responded, “Oh, absolutely.”

“It’s good to see when minority coaches get their opportunities — whether they’re Hispanic or they’re Black,” he continued. “And this is an opportunity that’s been earned. He guided a team into the playoffs on the offensive side. He had a veteran quarterback, and Baker did a nice job for him.”

Canales will have a familiar task in Carolina: to get the most out of second-year quarterback Bryce Young.

This time, as a head coach.

For a different NFL team.

In a city that’s already excited to embrace him.

“And not to mention,” Moulton said, “the last time we had a first overall pick quarterback and a Hispanic coach, we went to the Super Bowl.”