He previously was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of North Texas, a position he held from 2010 to 2015.
Canales attended Utah State University, where he was a three-year starting quarterback on the football team.
[1] During the 2010 season at North Texas, he was promoted from offensive coordinator to interim head coach after the mid-season termination of his predecessor, Todd Dodge.
Canales took over again on an interim basis after McCarney was fired five games into the 2015 season, a stretch in which North Texas went 0–5.
Following a 1–6 record in his second interim tenure, and athletic director Rick Villarreal announced Canales wouldn't return in any facet for the 2016 season.