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Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has blossomed after Carolina elected to stay the course with coach Ron Rivera, despite a front-office shakeup three years ago.

(AP Photo)

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cam Newton has a big arm. He has powerful legs.

The Carolina Panthers quarterback has all the tools to find the end zone -- which he's done more than anyone else in the league this year -- and a nifty pair of dancing shoes for when he gets there.

But Newton's always had those tools. He hasn't always had success. At least not like this.

So what's been the difference? What's suddenly turned him into a frontrunner for MVP? The impetus for a Super Bowl run?

"I think a secret weapon that I've had since Day 1 for me," Newton said, "has been Mike Shula."

Or, more specifically, it has been five years of working with Mike Shula, first as his quarterback coach and now as his offensive coordinator, despite going through a GM change in 2013.

"For him to be a part of my career since Day 1, him being my quarterback coach my rookie year and him moving and staying on the same coaching staff as being the offensive coordinator, him knowing me throughout this whole process, has been very important for my growth," Newton said.

This is a lesson for the Detroit Lions, and a blueprint they apparently hope to follow.

Detroit has overhauled its front office this offseason, after yet another disappointing finish in 2015. The club has made the playoffs just twice in the past 16 years, hasn't won a playoff game in 24 years and has never advanced to the Super Bowl.

The Panthers, which have existed for 21 years, will play in their second on Sunday when they face the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.

So Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford cleaned house, firing general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand after a 1-7 start. She replaced Mayhew this offseason with Bob Quinn, marking the first time Detroit has hired a GM from another organization since the 1960s.

Quinn has predictably overhauled the organization's structure and personnel. But, notably, he's opted to stay the course with coach Jim Caldwell.

That's a bit unorthodox. Most new GMs like to bring in their own guys, but Quinn sensed he can work with Caldwell, and chose to preserve some continuity after the club's 6-2 finish last season.

It is a show of patience that is rare in today's NFL. But it is one that the Panthers have shown can pay off handsomely.

After starting 1-5 in 2012, Carolina fired general manager Marty Hurney and eventually replaced him with Dave Gettleman. And while Gettleman imported some new people and philosophies, he elected to leave coach Ron Rivera and much of the staff in place.

Newton has improved almost every season since, peaking this year at 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions -- both career bests. His passer rating, at 99.4, also is a career best, and it does not account for the 636 yards he racked up on the ground. (More than any Lions player.)

Now three seasons after Gettleman chose to stick with Rivera rather than blow everything up, Carolina is in the Super Bowl.

"This league is generally so impatient with allowing things to play out," veteran Panthers receiver Jericho Cotchery said. "It stunts the growth of players, it stunts even talented coaches.

"The organizations that demonstrate that patience are often rewarded for it. This is no different. In our case, we have an extremely talented head coach. A guy who gets players and is a brilliant football mind. And the organization is being rewarded for the patience with him."

Will the same approach work for Matthew Stafford and the Lions? No one knows, though what we do know is it's incredibly difficult to learn a new scheme. Detroit knows all about that after the Joe Lombardi fiasco.

Installing a new system takes time, and often delays the development of a quarterback. And more delays is the last thing Stafford needs after seven up-and-down seasons that have seen him excel only in bursts.

"Anytime you can be under the same tutelage of coaches for a number of years, it definitely bodes well for your comfort and the way you play the game," Carolina fullback Mike Tolbert said. "Being in one offense is definitely better than being in two or three, as long as that offense isn't broken."

Stafford has already played in two schemes for three coordinators, and would have been on his third/fourth had Detroit gone in another direction. But staying the course with Caldwell, and now the quarterback-coach-turned-coordinator Jim Bob Cooter -- the same path Shula took in his mentorship of Newton -- gives him the opportunity to enjoy the comforts of continuity.

He's already shown he can be productive under Cooter, too, completing 70 percent of his passes during a red-hot second half last season. He threw 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions during that stretch.

Stafford could lose star receiver Calvin Johnson to retirement, which would throw a curve into everything, but Detroit appears to be betting that continuity is the path forward.

And Carolina is showing just how far that path can go, with a little patience.

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