The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Panthers were founded in 1993, when they joined the NFL as an expansion team. The team home field and headquarters is Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, they played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina during its first season in 1995. In the 29 seasons the team has played, it has a record of (a winning percentage of .474), with two Super Bowl appearances, six division titles, and eight playoff appearances.
The Carolina Panthers inaugural season was in 1995, where team played as members of the NFC West division. Dom Capers was the franchise's first head coach. In their first season, they recorded a record of , the best record for an expansion team in NFL history. In their second season, they won the NFC West and reached the NFC Championship game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers; Capers won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award. The Panthers would fail to reach the playoffs in 1997, and in 1998, Capers was fired after a finish. George Seifert was hired to replace him as head coach, but failed to reach the playoffs in any of his three seasons. His final season as head coach was in 2001, when the Panthers finished with a league-worst record. John Fox was hired as head coach in 2002. In his nine seasons as head coach, the Panthers made the playoffs three times and won two NFC South division titles (in 2003 and 2008). They reached Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003, the NFC Championship game in 2005, and the Divisional round in 2008.
Fox was not retained as head coach following a finish in 2010, and was succeeded by Ron Rivera. Rivera's tenure as head coach was the most successful in team history. The Panthers reached the playoffs four times under Rivera, and won three straight division titles from 2013 to 2015. In 2015, the Panthers recorded their most successful regular season, finishing with a league-best record; quarterback Cam Newton received MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors. However, the team lost Super Bowl 50 24–10 to the Denver Broncos. The team last recorded a playoff appearance in 2017, when they recorded an record but lost to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round. After a seven-year playoff drought and three fired head coaches (Rivera in 2019, Matt Rhule in 2022, and Frank Reich in 2023), the Panthers returned to the playoffs in the 2025 season after winning the NFC South with record of .
Seasons + KeyConference champions #Division champions Wild Card berth ^
+ SeasonTeamLeagueConferenceDivisionRegular seasonPostseason resultsAwardsHead coachFinish 1995 NFL NFC West 4th 7 9 0 (EOY)Dom Capers 1996 NFL NFC West 1st 12 4 0 Won Divisional playoffs (Cowboys) 26–17Lost NFC Championship (at Packers) 13–30 Dom Capers () (EOY) 1997 NFL NFC West 2nd 7 9 0 1998 NFL NFC West 4th 4 12 0 1999 NFL NFC West 2nd 8 8 0George Seifert 2000 NFL NFC West 3rd 7 9 0 2001 NFL NFC West 5th 1 15 0 2002 NFL NFC South 4th 7 9 0Julius Peppers ()John Fox 2003 NFL NFC # South 1st 11 5 0 Won Wild Card playoffs (Cowboys) 29–10Won Divisional playoffs (at Rams) 29–23 (2OT)Won NFC Championship (at Eagles) 14–3Lost Super Bowl XXXVIII (vs. Patriots) 29–32 2004 NFL NFC South 3rd 7 9 0 2005 NFL NFC South 2nd ^ 11 5 0 Won Wild Card playoffs (at Giants) 23–0 Won Divisional playoffs (at Bears) 29–21Lost NFC Championship (at Seahawks) 14–34 Steve Smith () 2006 NFL NFC South 2nd 8 8 0 2007 2007 NFL NFC South 2nd 7 9 0 2008 NFL NFC South 1st 12 4 0 Lost Divisional playoffs (Cardinals) 13–33 2009 2009 NFL NFC South 3rd 8 8 0 2010 2010 NFL NFC South 4th 2 14 0 2011 2011 NFL NFC South 3rd 6 10 0 Cam Newton ()Ron Rivera 2012 2012 NFL NFC South 2nd 7 9 0 Luke Kuechly () 2013 2013 NFL NFC South 1st 12 4 0 Lost Divisional playoffs (49ers) 10–23Luke Kuechly ()Ron Rivera () 2014 2014 NFL NFC South 1st 7 8 1 Won Wild Card playoffs (Cardinals) 27–16Lost Divisional playoffs (at Seahawks) 17–31Thomas Davis () 2015 2015 NFL NFC # South 1st 15 1 0 Won Divisional playoffs (Seahawks) 31–24Won NFC Championship (Cardinals) 49–15Lost Super Bowl 50 (vs. Broncos) 10–24Cam Newton (, )Ron Rivera (COY)Dave Gettleman (EOY) 2016 2016 NFL NFC South 4th 6 10 0 2017 2017 NFL NFC South 2nd ^ 11 5 0 Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Saints) 26–31 2018 2018 NFL NFC South 3rd 7 9 0 2019 2019 NFL NFC South 4th 5 11 0 Ron Rivera ()Perry Fewell () 2020 2020 NFL NFC South 3rd 5 11 0 Matt Rhule 2021 2021 NFL NFC South 4th 5 12 0 2022 2022 NFL NFC South 2nd 7 10 0 Matt Rhule ()Steve Wilks () 2023 2023 NFL NFC South 4th 2 15 0Frank Reich ()Chris Tabor () 2024 2024 NFL NFC South 3rd 5 12 0 Dave Canales 2025 2025 NFL NFC South 1st 8 9 0 Lost Wild Card playoffs (Rams) 31–34 Tetairoa McMillan () Totals 227 273 1All-time regular season record (1995–2025) 9 9—All-time postseason record (1995–2025) 236 282 1All-time regular & postseason record (1995–2025)
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