After being wiped out of the playoffs by Drew Brees and his New Orleans Saints, the Carolina Panthers are making a couple of changes in their coaching staff. The team will now look for a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after firing Mike Shula and Ken Dorsey on Tuesday. This might be a bit unexpected since the man who made the call, Panthers’ head coach Ron Rivera said on Monday that he doesn’t intend to make any changes to his coaching staff.
Rivera explained his decision, saying that after he re-evaluated everything and had a talk with GM Marty Hurney, he decided the team needs a different perspective.
“I came to the conclusion going forward the thing we needed to do was bring in a different perspective, different ideas in terms of going forward to what I believe is our ultimate goal and that is winning a Super Bowl” – said Rivera.
The Panthers didn’t find much success in the offense with Shula as their coordinator since they never were in the top 10 during the five year he was with the team. They also finished the 2017 regular season as 19th in total offense.
According to reports, the Panthers’ have already identified the names to replace Shula and Dorsey. Their top choice for the OC position is Norv Turner, former Raiders and Chargers head coach who last served as OC with the Minnesota Vikings. Reportedly, the Panthers have already agreed on a contract with Turner. The candidates for QB coach have not been discussed.
Another issue for the Panthers is the looming exit of the defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who already had interviews for a head coaching position with the New York Giants, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Indianapolis Colts. In case that Wilks chooses to leave the Panthers, Rivera said he will find someone who is already on his staff to fill the position.
