Ron Rivera and the Panthers did not wait long to fill their offensive coordinator void, hiring 30-year NFL coaching veteran Norv Turner to helm the Carolina Panthers offense after relieving Mike Shula of his coordinator duties early Tuesday afternoon. Rumors swirled through the hallways at 800 South Mint street almost as soon as the news of Shula’s firing came across the wire that Rivera would tap his former mentor Turner; those rumors have been confirmed Thursday evening by multiple sources.
Rivera and the Panthers are hopeful that the 65-year old Turner can do for Cam Newton what he has done in the past for quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Philip Rivers; Turner was either the head coach or offensive coordinator for an offense that finished in the Top 10 in scoring ten times over his career. Shula was only able to achieve that feat once in nine seasons.
But those expecting a completely new offense will be disappointed.
“You want to be able to say this is who we are, this is what we do,” said Ron Rivera, who just received a contract extension that will keep him with the Panthers through the 2020 season. “I think you win football games when you do that. I’ve quoted this stat before: When you outrush your opponent, when you rush for over 100 yards, you win 70 percent of the time. We want to win that consistently and put ourselves in position to get into the playoffs and win in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that this year, but that is a big part of what we want to become going forward.”
Turner, who stepped down after Week 7 of the 2016 season from his offensive coordinator post with the Minnesota Vikings, was widely regarded as one of the best offensive minds throughout his lengthy career, but had faltered in his most recent stop, finishing 27th, 29th and 30th, respectively, in total yards in his three seasons with the Vikings. In fact, Turner had not had a particularly successful offense since he helmed the San Diego Chargers in 2011, finishing fifth in points and sixth in yards that season.
That Chargers team had a talented quarterback in Philip Rivers, a young running back who excelled at catching passes out of the backfield in Ryan Matthews, and a Pro Bowl tight end in Antonio Gates; that team scored over 25 points per game and racked up 6,290 yards(393.1 per game) on the way to a disappointing 8-8 record. Perhaps Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey and Greg Olsen can mirror the Chargers’ success; that’s certainly the idea behind the hiring of one of the most experienced offensive coaches in the league: taking advantage of the pieces the Panthers have on offense, which Shula was unable to do this past season.
“I think it will be about how we attack offensively which I believe we can do with the personnel we have,” Rivera, who worked with Turner in San Diego from 2007 to 2010, explained on Tuesday. “I know our personnel isn’t perfect. I know we went through a lot at a couple positions obviously – running back and wide receiver being two of the priorities. We have to continue to grow with those players and add players. There’s a lot of things that still need to be looked at and put together, pieced together going forward.”
“When you do throw the ball, you want to make sure you’re protecting the football and not turning it over. You want to make sure you’re getting the ball in your playmaker’s hands, give those guys opportunities. Looking at some of the guys I’ve thought about, some of the things they do, they do use the backs. And we have a back in Christian (McCaffrey) that has that type of ability and you do want to get him the ball in space.”
Presumed to be joining the elder Turner will be his son Scott, who began his coaching career under Rivera as the offensive quality control coach for two seasons before moving to the Cleveland Browns for a year, then joining his father in Minnesota to work with Teddy Bridgewater as the quarterbacks coach. He’ll retake that role with the Panthers, hoping to help Cam Newton return to his 2015 MVP form; Newton had one of his worst statistical seasons as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery in 2017 under Shula, setting career worsts in interception percentage, yards per attempt, yards per completion, yards per game, and QBR.
Turner will be the third offensive coordinator that Newton has worked under as he heads into his eighth season as a professional. Rivera is confident that a change in perspective may be just the thing that the Panthers, who have made the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, need to get them over the hump.
“I just believe something different, something additional, different perspective can give us the boost I believe can help us get to the ultimate goal which is win a Super Bowl.”
