1995 Carolina Panthers season

The 1995 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League and the 1st under head coach Dom Capers. They went 7–9, the best debut year for any expansion franchise since the NFL's inception. The Panthers would go on to make the playoffs in only their second season in 1996. The Panthers played their first season's home games at Clemson University because Bank of America Stadium was still under construction after a deadline point in 1995 for scheduling Carolina's first set of NFL games.

1995 Carolina Panthers season
OwnerJerry Richardson
Head coachDom Capers
General managerBill Polian
Home fieldMemorial Stadium
Clemson, South Carolina
Results
Record7–9
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

Offseason

The Panthers were jokingly called "Buffalo Bills South" because of the large number of former Bills on the roster. Quarterback Frank Reich, wide receiver Don Beebe, tight end Pete Metzelaars and linebacker Carlton Bailey had played key roles in the Bills' run of four consecutive Super Bowls earlier in the 1990s and were on the Panthers' inaugural roster. Furthermore, the team's general manager was longtime Bills GM and executive Bill Polian. (See also the 2001 San Diego Chargers season, in which a similar situation arose when John Butler brought several former Bills with him to San Diego after being fired.)

Expansion draft
Main article: 1995 NFL expansion draft
Draft order Player name Position Former NFL team
Round Overall
1 2 Rod Smith Cornerback New England Patriots
2 4 Harry Boatswain Offensive tackle San Francisco 49ers
3 6 Kurt Haws Tight end Washington Redskins
4 8 Tyrone Rodgers Defensive end Seattle Seahawks
5 10 Mark Thomas Defensive end San Francisco 49ers
6 12 Tim McKyer Cornerback Pittsburgh Steelers
7 14 Curtis Whitley Center San Diego Chargers
8 16 Howard Griffith Fullback Los Angeles Rams
9 18 Greg Kragen Nose tackle Kansas City Chiefs
10 20 Cary Brabham Safety Los Angeles Raiders
11 22 Dave Garnett Linebacker Minnesota Vikings
12 24 Andre Powell Linebacker New York Giants
13 26 Dewell Brewer Running back Indianapolis Colts
14 28 Bob Christian Fullback Chicago Bears
15 30 Fred Foggie Safety Pittsburgh Steelers
16 32 Mark Carrier Wide receiver Cleveland Browns
17 34 Mark Rodenhauser Center Detroit Lions
18 36 Steve Hawkins Wide receiver New England Patriots
19 38 Brian O'Neal Running back Philadelphia Eagles
20 40 Derrick Lassic Running back Dallas Cowboys
21 42 Richard Buchanan Wide receiver Los Angeles Rams
22 44 Doug Pederson Quarterback Miami Dolphins
23 46 Vince Marrow Tight end Buffalo Bills
24 48 Larry Ryans Wide receiver Detroit Lions
25 50 Baron Rollins Guard New Orleans Saints
26 52 Williams Sims Linebacker Minnesota Vikings
27 54 Paul Butcher Linebacker Indianapolis Colts
28 56 Jack Trudeau Quarterback New York Jets
29 58 Charles Swann Wide receiver Denver Broncos
30 60 David Mims Wide receiver Atlanta Falcons
31 62 Shawn Price Defensive end Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32 63 Eric Guliford Wide receiver Minnesota Vikings
33 64 Bill Goldberg Defensive tackle Atlanta Falcons
34 65 Eric Ball Running back Cincinnati Bengals
35 66 Mike Teeter Defensive tackle Houston Oilers

[1]

NFL Draft
Main article: 1995 NFL Draft
1995 Carolina Panthers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 5 Kerry Collins *  QB Penn State
1 22 Tyrone Poole  CB Fort Valley State
1 29 Blake Brockermeyer   OT Texas
2 36 Shawn King  DE Louisiana–Monroe
4 132 Frank Garcia  C Washington
5 135 Michael Senters  WR Northwestern
5 171 Andrew Peterson  OT Washington
6 188 Steve Strahan  DT Baylor
6 191 Jerry Colquitt  QB Tennessee
7 209 Chad Cota  SS Oregon
7 249 Michael Reed  SS Boston College
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff
1995 Carolina Panthers staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Chip Morton

[3]

Roster
1995 Carolina Panthers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • 70 Kevin Farkas T
  • 77 Jeffrey Leh T
  • 97 Jeff Fields DL
  • 35 Marvin Ham SS


Rookies in italics
 , 2 practice squad

Schedule

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
HOF July 29 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 20–14 1–0 Fawcett Stadium 24,625
1 August 4 at Chicago Bears L 15–18 1–1 Soldier Field 50,300
2 August 12 Denver Broncos W 19–10 2–1 Memorial Stadium 57,017
3 August 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 10–17 2–2 3Com Park 51,185
4 August 26 New York Giants W 6–3 3–2 Memorial Stadium 49,114

Regular season
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 3 at Atlanta Falcons L 20–23 (OT) 0–1 Georgia Dome Recap
2 September 10 at Buffalo Bills L 9–31 0–2 Rich Stadium Recap
3 September 17 St. Louis Rams L 10–31 0–3 Memorial Stadium Recap
4 Bye
5 October 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–20 0–4 Memorial Stadium Recap
6 October 8 at Chicago Bears L 27–31 0–5 Soldier Field Recap
7 October 15 New York Jets W 26–15 1–5 Memorial Stadium Recap
8 October 22 New Orleans Saints W 20–3 2–5 Memorial Stadium Recap
9 October 29 at New England Patriots W 20–17 (OT) 3–5 Foxboro Stadium Recap
10 November 5 at San Francisco 49ers W 13–7 4–5 Candlestick Park Recap
11 November 12 at St. Louis Rams L 17–28 4–6 Trans World Dome Recap
12 November 19 Arizona Cardinals W 27–7 5–6 Memorial Stadium Recap
13 November 26 at New Orleans Saints L 26–34 5–7 Louisiana Superdome Recap
14 December 3 Indianapolis Colts W 13–10 6–7 Memorial Stadium Recap
15 December 10 San Francisco 49ers L 10–31 6–8 Memorial Stadium Recap
16 December 17 Atlanta Falcons W 21–17 7–8 Memorial Stadium Recap
17 December 24 at Washington Redskins L 17–20 7–9 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap

Season summary

Week 7 vs Jets
See also: 1995 New York Jets season
Week Seven: New York Jets (1–5) at Carolina Panthers (0–5)
1 2 34Total
Jets 0 12 0315
Panthers 3 10 7626

at Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina

Players dumped Gatorade on Dom Capers after the win. [4]

Standings
NFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) San Francisco 49ers 11 5 0 .688 457 258 L1
(6) Atlanta Falcons 9 7 0 .563 362 349 W1
St. Louis Rams 7 9 0 .438 309 418 L3
Carolina Panthers 7 9 0 .438 289 325 L1
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 319 348 W1

Records
  • Most victories by an expansion team (7)[5]
  • First expansion team to have a winning record at home (5–3)[5]
  • First expansion team to have a four-game winning streak (weeks 7–10)[5]
  • First expansion team to defeat a defending Super Bowl champion in its inaugural season (13–7 over the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco)[5]
  • First expansion team in NFL history to win its inaugural contest (20–14 over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game).

References
  1. "NFL Expansion Draft". Hartford Courant. February 16, 1995. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
  2. "NFL Draft — Team by Team". Hartford Courant. April 24, 1995. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  3. "Assistant Coaches". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  4. "Panthers earn first victory." Gainesville Sun. 1995 Oct 16. Retrieved 2019-Sep-17.
  5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 92
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