The Carolina Panthers are based in Charlotte, North Carolina and are members of the National Football League (NFL), representing both North Carolina and South Carolina. They are one of four teams that play in the South Division of the National Football Conference (NFC). The Panthers began playing as an NFL expansion team in 1995, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Panther uniforms are black, blue, and silver in color. They play at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
a lucky start
Just two years after the team was established, they won their division and qualified to compete in the playoffs in the 1996 season. No other NFL expansion team had achieved success so soon. The year before, they won seven games, the most wins by an expansion team. Panthers owner and founder Jerry Richardson received a new NFL franchise in 1993, his first after 1976 (when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks received franchises).
the worst season
The 2001 NFL season was a disaster for the Carolina Panthers. In fact, it was his worst year. They would go down in history for having the most consecutive losses on NFL record, losing 15 games in a row and finishing with a 1-15 record. Two seasons later, under the wing of head coach John Fox, they were able to turn their fortunes around and finished the regular season with an 11-5 record. They went on to the playoffs after winning the National Football Conference South Division title and then competed in Super Bowl XXXVIII against the New England Patriots. They could have won that season, but four seconds on the clock, their chances to win were blown by the Patriots’ Adam Vinatieri, who kicked a 41-yard field goal that led to the Panthers’ loss.
a close call
Dom Capers, a former assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the first head coach of the Panthers. In their first season in 1995, they lost their first five games but bounced back fairly well over the final 11 games, winning seven games overall, thanks to Panthers wide receivers Willie Green and Mark Carrier. The Panthers defeated the San Francisco 49ers, who were the defending champions of the league during that time, again, the first instance in NFL history for an expansion team. In 1996, the Panthers proved their professional status once again by winning 12 NFL games and clinching the NFC Northwest Division title. By this time, the Panthers had assembled an impenetrable team that included running back Anthony Johnson and quarterback Kerry Collins; Pro Bowl linebackers Lamar Lathon, Kevin Greene and Sam Mills, who made up the second-best defense in the NFC; placekicker John Kasay, who made a league-high 37 field goals; and the league’s top kickoff returner, Michale Bates, who averaged 30.2 yards per return. Dom Capers was named coach of the year. After defeating the Dallas Cowboys during the playoffs, the Panthers lost to the Green Bay Packers, who became that season’s Super Bowl champions.
