Could well be; I read somewhere that it was related to the ever bigger engines (for more efficient (higher) bypass ratio), which presumably have a lower centre of thrust.
They lengthened the nose gear 20cm to fit the new engines with the same ground clearance. Must have dropped the thrust centre line nearly half of that.
Well the Seattle Times quoted an ex-Boeing employee thusly:
> A former Boeing executive, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussion of accident investigations is supposed to be closely held, said that Boeing engineers didn’t introduce the change to the flight-control system arbitrarily.
> He said it was done primarily because the much bigger engines on the MAX changed the aerodynamics of the jet and shifted the conditions under which a stall could happen. That required further stall protection be implemented to certify the jet as safe.
