1995 Carolina Panthers season

1995 Carolina Panthers season

Head coach	Dom Capers
General manager	Bill Polian
Owner	Jerry Richardson
Home field	Memorial Stadium Clemson, South Carolina
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1995 Carolina Panthers season was the inaugural season for the team in the National Football League. They went a surprising 7–9, given their status as an expansion team, and finished 3rd in the NFC West. The Panthers were already a playoff team in 1996.

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	Player name	Position	Former NFL team
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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1995 Carolina Panthers draft
1	5	Kerry Collins *	Quarterback	Penn State
1	22	Tyrone Poole	Defensive back	Fort Valley State
1	29	Blake Brockermeyer	Offensive tackle	Texas
2	36	Shawn King	Defensive end	Northeast Louisiana
4	132	Frank Garcia	Center	Washington
5	135	Mike Senters	Defensive back	Northwestern
5	171	Andrew Peterson	Offensive tackle	Washington
6	188	Steve Strahan	Defensive tackle	Baylor
6	191	Jerry Colquitt	Quarterback	Tennessee
7	209	Chad Cota	Defensive back	Oregon
7	249	Michael Reed	Defensive back	Boston College
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1995 Carolina Panthers staff

Front office

Owner/Founder – Jerry Richardson
President – Mike McCormack
General Manager – Bill Polian

Head coaches

Head Coach – Dom Capers

Offensive coaches

Offensive Coordinator – Joe Pendry
Running Backs – Chick Harris
Wide Receivers – Richard Williamson
Tight Ends – Don Breaux
Offensive Line – Jim McNally
Assistant Offensive Line – Blair Bush
Offensive Quality Control – John Shoop

Defensive coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Vic Fangio
Defensive Line – Cary Godette
Linebackers – Kevin Steele
Outside Linebackers – Billy Davis
Defensive Backs – George Catavolos
Defensive Quality Control – Greg Roman

Special teams coaches

Special Teams – Brad Seely

Strength and conditioning

Strength and Conditioning – Chip Morton
Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Greg Roman

^[3]

Roster

1995 Carolina Panthers final roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

93 Mike Fox DE
96 Shawn King DE
71 Greg Kragen NT
92 Shawn Price DE
98 Gerald Williams DE
90 Jeff Zgonina NT

Linebackers

54 Carlton Bailey ILB
53 Paul Butcher ILB
56 Darion Conner OLB
55 Brett Faryniarz OLB
50 Jamal Fountaine OLB
57 Lamar Lathon OLB
51 Sam Mills ILB
58 Andre Royal ILB
59 Phil Yeboah-Kodie OLB

Defensive backs

33 Butler By'not'e CB
37 Chad Cota FS
29 Steve Lofton CB
39 Brett Maxie SS
25 Bubba McDowell SS
22 Tim McKyer CB
38 Tyrone Poole CB
31 Rod Smith CB
40 Pat Terrell FS

Special teams

6 Tommy Barnhardt P
4 John Kasay K

Reserve lists

26 Dewell Brewer RB (IR)
84 Eric Guliford WR (IR)
67 Brandon Hayes G (IR)
99 Jeremy Nunley DE (IR)
45 Michael Reed CB (IR)
47 Mike Senters CB (IR)
28 Tony Smith RB (IR)
91 Mike Teeter NT (IR)
95 Mark Thomas DE (IR)
85 Lawyer Tillman TE (IR)
32 Nate Turner FB (IR)

Practice squad

70 Kevin Farkas T
97 Jeff Fields DL
35 Marvin Ham SS

Rookies in italics
53 Active, 11 Inactive, 2 Practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
Week	Date	Opponent	Final score	Team record	Game site	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	Results		Game site	Attendance	TV Time
Week	Date	Opponent	Final score	Team record	Game site	Attendance	TV Time
1	September 3	at Atlanta Falcons	L 23–20 OT	0–1	Georgia Dome	58,808	FOX 1:00pm EDT
2	September 10	at Buffalo Bills	L 31–9	0–2	Rich Stadium	79,190	FOX 1:00pm EDT
3	September 17	St. Louis Rams	L 31–10	0–3	Memorial Stadium	54,060	FOX 1:00pm EDT
4	Bye
5	October 1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–13	0–4	Memorial Stadium	50,076	FOX 1:00pm EDT
6	October 8	at Chicago Bears	L 31–27	0–5	Soldier Field	59,668	FOX 1:00pm EDT
7	October 15	New York Jets	W 26–15	1–5	Memorial Stadium	52,613	NBC 4:00pm EDT
8	October 22	New Orleans Saints	W 20–3	2–5	Memorial Stadium	55,484	FOX 1:00pm EDT
9	October 29	at New England Patriots	W 20–17 OT	3–5	Foxboro Stadium	60,064	FOX 1:00pm EST
10	November 5	at San Francisco 49ers	W 13–7	4–5	Candlestick Park	61,722	FOX 4:00pm EST
11	November 12	at St. Louis Rams	L 28–17	4–6	Trans World Dome	65,598	FOX 1:00pm EST
12	November 19	Arizona Cardinals	W 27–7	5–6	Memorial Stadium	49,582	FOX 1:00pm EST
13	November 26	at New Orleans Saints	L 34–26	5–7	Louisiana Superdome	39,580	ESPN 8:00pm EST
14	December 3	Indianapolis Colts	W 13–10	6–7	Memorial Stadium	49,841	NBC 1:00pm EST
15	December 10	San Francisco 49ers	L 31–10	6–8	Memorial Stadium	76,136	FOX 1:00pm EST
16	December 17	Atlanta Falcons	W 21–17	7–8	Memorial Stadium	53,833	FOX 1:00pm EST
17	December 24	at Washington Redskins	L 20–17	7–9	RFK Stadium	42,903	FOX 1:00pm EST

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)^[4]
First expansion team to have a winning record at home (5–3)^[4]
First expansion team to have a four-game winning streak (weeks 7–10)^[4]
First expansion team to defeat a defending Super Bowl champion in its inaugural season (13–7 over the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco)^[4]
First expansion team in NFL history to win its inaugural contest (20–14 over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game).

References

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

Carolina Panthers

Founded in 1995 Based and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina

Franchise	Franchise Team history Seasons Coaches Players Expansion draft First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Records and statistics Broadcasters

Stadiums	Memorial Stadium (Clemson) Bank of America Stadium

Culture and lore	Jerry Richardson Sir Purr Cardiac Cats Carolina Topcats "Sweet Caroline" (song)

Rivalries	Atlanta Falcons Tampa Bay Buccaneers Seattle Seahawks

Hall of Honor	Mike McCormack Sam Mills PSL Owners

Playoff appearances (7)	1996 2003 2005 2008 2013 2014 2015

Division championships (6)	1996 2003 2008 2013 2014 2015

Conference championships (2)	2003 2015

Retired numbers	51

Media	Mick Mixon Eugene Robinson Bill Rosinski TV: WCCB Radio: WBT

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: South Division

Seasons (21)	1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Carolina Panthers seasons

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

Carolina Panthers 1995 inaugural season roster

1995 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
Miami	Houston	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Jacksonville	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco

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