1995 Carolina Panthers season

1995 Carolina Panthers season
Head Coach	Dom Capers
General Manager	Bill Polian
Home Field	Memorial Stadium Clemson, South Carolina
Results
Record	7–9
Place	4th NFC West
Playoff Finish	Did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
none	1996

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.

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

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

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

Roster

1995 Carolina Panthers roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Kerry Collins 14 Frank Reich 10 Jack Trudeau Running backs 44 Bob Christian FB 30 Howard Griffith FB 23 Anthony Johnson 20 Derrick Moore 32 Dino Philyaw 31 Blair Thomas Wide receivers 82 Don Beebe 83 Mark Carrier 86 Willie Green 81 Reggie Jones 80 Dwight Stone 84 Brian Wiggins Tight ends 87 Matt Campbell 88 Pete Metzelaars 89 Walter Rasby		Offensive linemen 78 Blake Brockermeyer T 74 Mark Dennis T 52 Matt Elliott G 65 Frank Garcia G 74 Derrick Graham T 79 Sean Love G 60 Andrew Peterson OL 63 Mark Rodenhauser C 64 Curtis Whitley C 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 77 Jeffrey Leh 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
			Final score	Team record
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
			Final score	Team record
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
San Francisco 49ers	11	5	0	.688	457	258
Atlanta Falcons	9	7	0	.563	362	349
St. Louis Rams	7	9	0	.438	309	418
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	289	325
New Orleans Saints	7	9	0	.438	319	348

Records

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