The fans of the Carolina Panthers have had enough of their anemic offensive performances. After a poor showing in their 17-3 loss to the Bears, many are looking for the firing of offensive coordinator Mike Shula. Shula has been with the Panthers for seven seasons, two of those as the quarterback's coach, and the last five as offensive coordinator. The offense has failed to produce and now a petition for the coordinator's firing has surfaced on thepettionsite.com. Could the coordinator be looking for another job by the end of the week?
Poor performances
The Panthers have had more than one game where their offense failed to put up big numbers. They scored nine points against the Bills in week two, thirteen in a loss to the Saints the following week, and now this three-point game against an average Bears defense. The Panthers committed three turnovers, two of them were returned for touchdowns. This is only one game of many where the offense failed to get things done offensively.
The Panthers' offense has struggled the entire season. The main reason they have struggled is their inability to run the ball. They rank 22nd in the league in rush yards per game with 97 yards per game. Johnathan Stewart has under 300 yards along with rookie Christian Mccaffrey.
Cam Newton has the most rushing touchdowns on the season with three. Shula seems to have gone away from the running game and put the game solely on Cam Newton's arm which it isn't what Cam Newton thrives one. He plays well when there is a solid run game so he can beat the defense with his play action passing. Cam can't win the game solely with his arm, and Shula should know that by now.
Out the door
Many fans want to see Shula pack his things and head out the door, but Ron Rivera seems to be sticking with Shula. Rivera has had Shula by his side since he became coach of the Panthers, and he likes the play calling that Shula has done with the offense.
"I'm happy with what we're doing. Again, just watch the game and see what's happening.
Ok?" said Rivera
Well if you watch the game, you see a lot of dink and dunk plays along with the failure to run the ball. What might anger Panthers fans, even more, is that their first-round pick Christian McCaffrey hasn't been the explosive player they saw at Stanford. This could be credited to him needing to get used to the offense which Rivera emphasized in his press conference.
"We're in a situation now where you have so many new guys you're going through this communication, it takes a little bit to register," said Rivera
Shula says he'll take that into consideration but he doesn't want to cut it down "too much." With the direction the Panthers offense is going, he needs to do something as the seat just got hotter.
Shula will likely finish the season but what happens to him in the offseason is uncertain. The fans are the biggest part of a sports team and now that they voiced their displeasure, will the Panthers listen?
