Panthers Coach Prevailed Over His ‘Secret Life’ Thanks To Christianity
Dave Canales is ready to start a new chapter in his budding NFL career by taking on the head coaching job with the Carolina Panthers. The hiring comes 16 months after Canales penned a faith-based book about his “secret life” and how Christianity helped him get out of it.
Canales, 42, who served as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season, had been living a sinful life marked by addiction to pornography and binge drinking.
Canales and wife Lizzy co-authored the 2022 book, “This Marriage? The Question That Changed Everything,” that detailed how he overcame his demons and how Christianity saved him. He was a member of the coaching staff with the Seattle Seahawks when the book was released in September of that year.
READ: Sin City’s Christian Quarterback Dual
“No matter how hard I tried by going to church, reading my Bible and praying, I always had a secret, dark place that was just mine,” he wrote.
That dark place included cheating on his wife, viewing porn and abusing alcohol.
In the book’s preface, Canales and his wife said they decided to go public because “we wanted other people to feel safe starting this journey toward a vibrant marriage by helping them see they are not alone.”
(Photo via Amazon)
“Welcome to our mess and the beautiful way that God has worked ALL THINGS together for us,” added the couple, who have four children.
A native of Harbor City, Calif., Canales, who is of Mexican heritage, attended Carson High School in Carson, near Los Angeles, where he played wide receiver and defensive back.
In college, Canales played at Azusa Pacific University, then a NAIA program, in California. Throughout his college career, he recorded 27 receptions for 293 yards and one touchdown for the Christian college.
Canales, who once sold boots, graduated in 2002 from Azusa Pacific with a degree in business administration.
Football remained his No. 1 passion and Canales eventually got into coaching. During his time at El Camino College, where he served on the coaching staff, Canales formed a relationship with Pete Carroll, the then-head coach of the USC Trojans.
In 2009, Canales joined Carroll at USC, where he served as an assistant strength coach for one season. In 2010, he followed Carroll to the Seahawks.
Canales won his first — and to date only — NFL championship when the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. A year ago, he was hired by the Bucs to be the team’s offensive coordinator.
Despite all that success, Canales, who was raised a Christian, was in a dark place. He even used to pretend not to be married whenever he went out drinking.
“I would be out with my friends and take my ring off, acting like I was single depending on who was around,” he admitted. “This didn’t happen all the time, but I left a crack in the door for deceit.”
Canales wrote in the book: “A huge part in the severed intimacy that I was experiencing with Lizzy was because I was addicted to pornography. It was like a gateway drug for me, creating pathways in my brain that allowed me to use sex coldly for my own benefit. It was a secret, silent struggle that I had years before I was married.”
A National Institutes of Health study estimates that rates of hypersexual disorder, which includes porn addiction, is as high as six percent of all U.S. adults. The availability of porn on the internet has made it easily accessible, some saying it’s as addictive as drugs.
Dave Canales (right), his wife and four children. (Photo via X)
Canales was “raised in a family of communicators and teachers; the rest of the Canales family all serve as ministers” in the church founded by his grandfather Miguel known as Mission Ebenezer Family Church, located in Carson, the Panthers said in a profile posted to their website.
The church — founded in 1959 — began with just 15 members and now ministers to over 3,000 parishioners. Canales’ father served as lead pastor for years and his two brothers, Josh and Coba, currently serve as lead and associate pastor. Canales’ mother and other relatives serve as staff members.
Nonetheless, Canales had multiple affairs — and even cheated on his wife during his bachelor party a month before they were to be wed.
“From the start of our relationship, I was binge drinking and going out with friends, without Lizzy,” he wrote. “Before I was ever unfaithful to her, I was already there in my mind. Bad habits combined with addiction made it hard for me to resist temptation. It was a pattern I knew well before we started dating.”
Canales said the long hours — some lasting 16 hours in preparation for a game — that come with being an NFL assistant coach didn’t help his lifestyle.
The Panthers said they were aware of the book’s publication before officially hiring Canales a few weeks ago. Canales is expected to address reporters on Thursday for the first time as Panthers head coach in his introductory news conference.
Canales eventually admitted everything to his family, which marked the the start of him turning his life around. He turned to faith to help him overcome his infidelity and addictions.
“For some [the book] is incredibly uncomfortable and maybe even convicting,” Canales wrote. “For others it is like a breath of fresh air and an invitation to go deeper into their own relationships.”
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.