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Panthers: Offensive Coordinator Mike Shula to remain on staff

By Brandon Scott

JACKSONVILLE, FL - CIRCA 2010: In this handout photo provided by the NFL, Mike Shula of the Jacksonville Jaguars poses for his 2010 NFL headshot circa 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - CIRCA 2010: In this handout photo provided by the NFL, Mike Shula of the Jacksonville Jaguars poses for his 2010 NFL headshot circa 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images) /
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Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula is expected back next season…

One day after suffering a season ending wild card playoff loss to divisional rival New Orleans, the Carolina Panthers players and coaches were moving out from Bank of America Stadium. Coach Ron Rivera, who recently signed a two-year contract extension, will return next season and on Monday he alluded to all of his staff remaining in place minus one.

Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks is lining up multiple interviews with teams in need of a coach. His assumed departure means Rivera will be replacing a defensive coordinator for the second time in two straight seasons. Last year, former Panthers coordinator Sean McDermott left for Buffalo where he guided the Bills in a return to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.

On the other side of the football, offensive coordinator Mike Shula has served in his current role for the past five seasons. During that time Carolina has won three divisional titles, advanced to the playoffs four times and appeared in one Super Bowl. Despite the team’s production, Shula has come under fire for his mundane play calling and the communication issues that inevitably take place almost on a weekly basis. In the Panthers lone playoff game, Carolina was forced to take a timeout on just the second offensive play from scrimmage.

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Another glaring sign of Shula’s ineptitude is the blatant disregard other teams show him when searching for a coach. Prior to the 2016 NFL season, there were seven vacancies available when Shula and the Panthers completed an impressive offensive season, averaging over 30-points per game. None attempted to lure Shula from Carolina.

Last year brought more of the same as McDermott left and Shula remained. This offseason, Wilks already has interviews scheduled with the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions while Shula again isn’t drawing any interest from these or other teams.

Amid an impending ownership change, the Panthers are obviously hoping to control what they can and keep undue changes to a minimum. Rivera’s extension points to this fact, in addition to a likely hiring of interim general manager Marty Hurney into the full time role. Tight end Greg Olsen has already offered his support for this move.

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As such, early indications are to expect more of the same in 2018 with Shula and quarterback coach Ken Dorsey both returning to the Panthers sideline.

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