The Carolina Panthers’ offense has been a mess for much of the year, and it led to the firing of offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Quarterback Cam Newton hasn’t been with the organization for long, but that doesn’t mean he does not hold himself responsible.
Newton admitted Thursday that he felt he had “something to do” with Brady’s firing. The quarterback added that he was worried about his own job at this point in light of the team’s struggles.
“Do I think I had something to do with it? The competitor in me, absolutely, yes. Because the truth of the matter is you don’t lose your job because of success,” Newton said, via David Newton of ESPN. “Where I’m at now is doing what I can control to make sure that I have a job, too. Let’s just be honest.”
Newton holding himself accountable like this isn’t a bad thing. That said, Carolina’s problems long predated his arrival. In the three weeks that preceded his Week 10 debut, the Panthers had scored a combined total of 28 points.
Yes, Newton put a lot of responsibility on himself in his return to Carolina. From that standpoint, the team’s failure to improve under him does reflect on him to some degree. The offense has a lot of structural problems, though, and Newton was never going to be able to fix those quickly.
Photo: Aug 22, 2019; Foxborough, MA, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) warms up prior to the start of a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
