Carolina’s 2017 offense wasn’t pretty. The Panthers finished the season ranked 17th in offensive DVOA; 19th in yards/play at 5 even. Carolina fans and analysts lamented the quick pivot to conservative offense once a lead was achieved — no matter how small or early that lead came to be. Newton was regularly asked to make more difficult throws than most quarterbacks in the league — he was the clubhouse leader by NFL Next Gen Statistics back in the 2016 season; 5th-most attempts in 2017.
As you can imagine, the offensive coordinator came under fire: Mike Shula was out.