PHOENIX — Before becoming the Panthers coach, Dave Canales worked with Geno Smith in Seattle

So what does he remember most about working with Smith for four seasons?

“Fiery competitor, really curious guy about football, loves the game,” Canales said at the NFL Annual Meeting. “Believes it should be done a certain way. Gets passionate and emotional when he feels like people around him aren’t giving the same type of input and care into what we’re doing and trying to win.

“That bothers him in a good way. And I saw him lead that way, and there was a healthy pressure that he put on the group, and he walked into the huddle, like, clamping his hands. ‘Come on, let’s go, like, trying to snap guys out of it, you know?’ I love that about him. And then, just to curiosity, it didn’t come up as a man, as a dad, and those types of things, some of the conversations, that, he’s, you know, I was with him in a special season of his life, where he was going into fatherhood, you know, and he was going into all those things. So we had some great conversations about all of that, and I think that also makes us a really special player.”

Canales has been labeled as a quarterback whisperer after helping multiple quarterbacks revitalize their careers. But it all started with Smith in Seattle.

Smith came to the Seahawks in 2019 after failed stops with the Jets, Giants and Chargers. After backing up Russell Wilson for three seasons, Smith became Seattle’s starter in 2022 and had his best season, in part thanks to Canales, his quarterback coach.

Smith finished with 4,282 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while making the first Pro Bowl of his career. He also won the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award and helped the Seahawks to the playoffs that year.

After Canales left to become the Buccaneers offensive coordinator for a season, Smith continued his strong play the following season in 2023. He made the Pro Bowl once again after throwing for 3,624 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

In addition to Smith, Canales also helped Baker Mayfield and Bryce Young turn their careers around when some considered them draft busts.

Smith, 35, is looking for a bounce-back year with the Jets after two back-to-back years with the Seahawks and then the Raiders last season. In his final year in Seattle, he helped the team finish 10-7, but Smith threw 15 interceptions, the second-most in the league.

After the Seahawks signed Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract in 2025, Smith was shipped to the Raiders for a third-round pick. But the move proved to be disastrous. He was sacked a league-leading 55 times and threw the most interceptions (17) while the Raiders finished tied for the worst record (3-14).

With them appearing set to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the top overall pick, the Raiders traded Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Jets at the start of free agency in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Following a quarterback carousel with Justin Fields, Brady Cook, and Tyrod Taylor last season, the Jets were looking for a veteran quarterback. They landed on Smith, whom they originally drafted in 2013.

Even in his advancing years, Canales believes Smith still has a lot left in his tank.

“He got accuracy, and he’s brilliant, he’s a tireless worker,” Canales said. “Really amazing brain as far as, like, a recall standpoint, memory, and how he applies it to the game. But just a real talent from a throwing standpoint, you know and I think that that is sustainable.

“When you’re not having to rely on your legs, you can really play from the pocket and progress. That’s what Geno’s done, an amazing job of. You know, really over, especially over the last five years, is just being able to find the completion, progress to the second one, and eliminate things early in the process, he knows. This coverage says, one’s not gonna be open. He’ll go two to three, let’s just check down. And, you know, you can still spin it and put the ball down the field. So I think that, I think that, you know, allows the guy to play well into his 30s.”