1997 Carolina Panthers season

1997 Carolina Panthers season
Head Coach	Dom Capers
General Manager	Bill Polian
Home Field	Ericsson Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Place	2nd NFC West
Playoff Finish	Did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1996	1998

The 1997 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 3rd season in the National Football League and the 3rd under head coach Dom Capers. They failed to improve upon their 12–4 record in 1996, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history and finshed 7-9. The Panthers appeared on Monday Night Football for the first time in franchise history. The Panthers faced the Dallas Cowboys and won the game by a score of 23–13.^[1]

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1997 Carolina Panthers draft
1	27	Rae Carruth	Wide receiver	Colorado
2	56	Mike Minter	Safety	Nebraska
3	87	Kinnon Tatum	Linebacker	Notre Dame
4	122	Tarek Saleh	Linebacker	Wisconsin
6	187	Matt Finkes	Defensive end	Ohio State
7	228	Kris Mangum	Tight end	Mississippi
Made roster

^[2]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1997 Carolina Panthers staff

Front office

Owner/Founder – Jerry Richardson
President – Mark Richardson
General Manager – Bill Polian

Head coaches

Head Coach – Dom Capers

Offensive coaches

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

Defensive coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Vic Fangio
Defensive Line – Ted Gill
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[]

1997 Carolina Panthers roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

78 Blake Brockermeyer T
66 Matt Campbell G
52 Matt Elliott G/T
65 Frank Garcia C
60 Bucky Greeley C
63 Mark Rodenhauser C
75 Greg Skrepenak G
70 Todd Stewart T
73 Jamie Wilson T

Defensive linemen

93 Mike Fox DE
71 Greg Kragen NT
69 Les Miller DE
95 Tim Morabito NT
98 Don Sasa DE
99 Ray Seals DE

Linebackers

54 Carlton Bailey ILB
53 Myron Baker ILB
56 Micheal Barrow OLB
55 Percell Gaskins LB
57 Lamar Lathon OLB
51 Sam Mills ILB
58 Andre Royal ILB
94 Tarek Saleh OLB
50 Kinnon Tatum ILB
97 Renaldo Turnbull OLB

Defensive backs

24 Clifton Abraham CB
41 Toi Cook CB
37 Chad Cota SS
25 Eric Davis CB
30 Mike Minter FS
27 Damon Pieri S
38 Tyrone Poole CB
31 Rod Smith CB
40 Pat Terrell S

Special teams

4 John Kasay K
13 Ken Walter P

Reserve lists

83 Mark Carrier WR (IR)
76 Norberto Davidds-Garrido T (IR)
35 Marvin Ham SS (IR)
96 Shawn King DE (IR)
88 Walter Rasby TE (IR)
-- Marquette Smith RB (IR)

Practice squad

72 Waverly Jackson DE

Rookies in italics
53 Active, 5 Inactive, 1 Practice squad

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
Week	Date	Opponent	Final score	Team record	Game site	Attendance
1	August 31	Washington Redskins	L 10–24	0–1	Ericsson Stadium	72,633
2	September 7	at Atlanta Falcons	W 9–6	1–1	Georgia Dome	51,829
3	September 14	at San Diego Chargers	W 26–7	2–1	Qualcomm Stadium	63,149
4	September 21	Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–35	2–2	Ericsson Stadium	67,402
5	September 29	San Francisco 49ers	L 21–34	2–3	Ericsson Stadium	70,972
6	Bye
7	October 12	at Minnesota Vikings	L 14–21	2–4	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	62,625
8	October 19	at New Orleans Saints	W 13–0	3–4	Louisiana Superdome	50,963
9	October 26	Atlanta Falcons	W 21–12	4–4	Ericsson Stadium	54,675
10	November 2	Oakland Raiders	W 38–14	5–4	Ericsson Stadium	71,064
11	November 9	at Denver Broncos	L 0–34	5–5	Mile High Stadium	71,408
12	November 16	at San Francisco 49ers	L 19–27	5–6	3Com Park	61,500
13	November 23	at St. Louis Rams	W 16–10	6–6	Trans World Dome	64,609
14	November 30	New Orleans Saints	L 13–16	6–7	Ericsson Stadium	57,957
15	December 8	at Dallas Cowboys	W 23–13	7–7	Texas Stadium	63,251
16	December 14	Green Bay Packers	L 10–31	7–8	Ericsson Stadium	70,887
17	December 20	St. Louis Rams	L 18–30	7–9	Ericsson Stadium	58,101

Standings[]

NFC West
view · talk · edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
San Francisco 49ers	13	3	0	.813	375	265
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	265	314
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	320	361
New Orleans Saints	6	10	0	.375	237	327
St. Louis Rams	5	11	0	.313	299	359

References[]

↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 373
↑ "1997 Carolina Panthers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/car/1997_draft.htm. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
↑ "Assistant Coaches". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130115220107/http://www.panthers.com/team/history/assistant-coaches.html. Retrieved January 3, 2014.

1997 NFL seasonv · d · e
AFC	East	Central	West	East	Central	West	NFC
	Buffalo	Baltimore	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
	Indianapolis	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
	Miami	Jacksonville	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
	New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
	NY Jets	Tennessee	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco
1997 NFL Draft • NFL Playoffs • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XXXII

[1] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 373

[2] "1997 Carolina Panthers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/car/1997_draft.htm. Retrieved October 3, 2014.

[3] "Assistant Coaches". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130115220107/http://www.panthers.com/team/history/assistant-coaches.html. Retrieved January 3, 2014.

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