The 1995 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League and the first under head coach Dom Capers. They went 7–9, the best debut year for any expansion franchise since the NFL's inception. The Panthers played their first season's home games at Clemson University because what would become Ericsson 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
1995 Carolina Panthers expansion draft Round Selection Player Position Drafted from 1 2 Rod Smith^ CB New England Patriots 2 4 Harry Boatswain OT San Francisco 49ers 3 6 Kurt Haws TE Washington Redskins 4 8 Tyrone Rodgers DE Seattle Seahawks 5 10 Mark Thomas^ DE San Francisco 49ers 6 12 Tim McKyer^ CB Pittsburgh Steelers 7 14 Curtis Whitley^ C San Diego Chargers 8 16 Howard Griffith^ FB Los Angeles Rams 9 18 Greg Kragen^ NT Kansas City Chiefs 10 20 Cary Brabham S Los Angeles Raiders 11 22 Dave Garnett LB Minnesota Vikings 12 24 Andre Powell LB New York Giants 13 26 Dewell Brewer^ RB Indianapolis Colts 14 28 Bob Christian^ FB Chicago Bears 15 30 Fred Foggie S Pittsburgh Steelers 16 32 Mark Carrier^ WR Cleveland Browns 17 34 Mark Rodenhauser^ C Detroit Lions 18 36 Steve Hawkins WR New England Patriots 19 38 Brian O'Neal RB Philadelphia Eagles 20 40 Derrick Lassic RB Dallas Cowboys 21 42 Richard Buchanan WR Los Angeles Rams 22 44 Doug Pederson QB Miami Dolphins 23 46 Vince Marrow TE Buffalo Bills 24 48 Larry Ryans WR Detroit Lions 25 50 Baron Rollins G New Orleans Saints 26 52 Williams Sims LB Minnesota Vikings 27 54 Paul Butcher^ LB Indianapolis Colts 28 56 Jack Trudeau^ QB New York Jets 29 58 Charles Swann WR Denver Broncos 30 60 David Mims WR Atlanta Falcons 31 62 Shawn Price^ DE Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32 63 Eric Guliford^ WR Minnesota Vikings 33 64 Bill Goldberg DT Atlanta Falcons 34 65 Eric Ball RB Cincinnati Bengals 35 66 Mike Teeter^ DT Houston Oilers ^ Made roster.
NFL draft
Draft trades
Undrafted free agents
+ 1995 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeWillie BrookinsLinebackerEast CarolinaKevin FeigheryPunterMerchant Marine AcademyTony JonesSafetySyracuseDavid LauderKickerBYUBilly MitchellCornerback/SafetyTexas A&MEd StuartLinebackerNebraskaAllen WilllamsRunning backMaryland
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance HOF at Jacksonville Jaguars W 20–14 1–0 Fawcett Stadium 24,625 1 at Chicago Bears L 15–18 1–1 Soldier Field 50,300 2 Denver Broncos W 19–10 2–1 Memorial Stadium 57,017 3 at San Francisco 49ers L 10–17 2–2 3Com Park 51,185 4 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 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 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 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Season summary Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 2: at Buffalo Bills
Week 3: vs. St. Louis Rams
Week 5: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 6: at Chicago Bears
Week 7: vs New York Jets
Players dumped Gatorade on Dom Capers after the win."Panthers earn first victory". Gainesville Sun. October 16, 1995. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
Week 8: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 9: at New England Patriots
Week 10: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 11: at St. Louis Rams
Week 12: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 13: at New Orleans Saints
Week 14: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 15: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 16: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 17: at Washington Redskins
Standings
Records Most victories by an expansion team (7)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 92 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)
References