2001 Carolina Panthers season

2001 Carolina Panthers season
Head coach	George Seifert
Owner	Jerry Richardson
Home field	Ericsson Stadium
Results
Record	1–15
Division place	5th NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The New England Patriots at Carolina in Week 17 on January 6, 2002

The 2001 Carolina Panthers season was the seventh season for the team in the National Football League. They tried to improve upon their 7–9 record in 2000, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

However, the season was a total disaster. Not only were the Panthers unable to improve over their previous season, but they deteriorated even further to 1–15, winning only their opener. The Panthers thus beat the record shared by the 1976 Buccaneers, the 1980 Saints, the 1981 Colts and the 1990 Patriots for most consecutive losses during a single season in NFL history. This has since been broken by the winless 2008 Detroit Lions. The only other teams in NFL history to win their opener and lose the remainder of their games are the 1936 Philadelphia Eagles and the 1969 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Following the season, head coach George Seifert was fired and replaced by John Fox. By the end of the season, the Panthers had become so woeful that only about 16,000 fans showed up to see them play in their finale against the New England Patriots, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

The 2001 Panthers became the 7th team to finish 1–15 after the San Diego Chargers in 2000.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 2001 NFL Draft

2001 Carolina Panthers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Dan Morgan *	Linebacker	Miami (FL)
2	44	Kris Jenkins *	Defensive tackle	Maryland
3	74	Steve Smith *	Wide receiver	Utah
4	106	Chris Weinke	Quarterback	Florida State
5	143	Jarrod Cooper	Defensive back	Kansas State
6	175	Dee Brown	Running back	Syracuse
7	211	Louis Williams	Center	Louisiana State
7	227	Mike Roberg	Tight end	Idaho
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

2001 Carolina Panthers staff
	Front office Owner/Founder – Jerry Richardson President – Mark Richardson Director of Football Operations – Marty Hurney Director of Player Personnel – Jack Bushofsky Head coaches Head Coach – George Seifert Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator – John Marshall Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator – Richard Williamson Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Turk Schonert Running Backs – Chick Harris Wide Receivers – Mike McCoy Tight Ends – Don Breaux Offensive Line – Paul Boudreau Assistant Offensive Line – Greg Roman			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Jacob Burney Linebackers – Sam Mills Defensive Backs – Carlos Mainord Defensive Assistant – Alvin Reynolds Special teams coaches Special Teams – Scott O'Brien Special Teams Assistant – Darrin Simmons Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jerry Simmons Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Darrin Simmons

Roster

2001 Carolina Panthers final roster
	Quarterbacks  9 Matt Lytle 16 Chris Weinke Running backs 36 Nick Goings 44 Chris Hetherington FB 45 Brad Hoover FB 34 Richard Huntley Wide receivers 82 Isaac Byrd 88 Karl Hankton 81 Donald Hayes 83 Patrick Jeffers 87 Muhsin Muhammad 89 Steve Smith 15 Jim Turner Tight ends 80 Luther Broughton 84 Casey Crawford 86 Kris Mangum		Offensive linemen 78 Jeno James G 76 Leander Jordan G 60 Jeff Mitchell C 63 Jamar Nesbit G/C 75 Todd Steussie T 70 Chris Terry T 73 Melvin Tuten T 62 T. J. Washington T 66 Louis Williams C Defensive linemen 99 Brentson Buckner DT 94 Sean Gilbert DE 77 Kris Jenkins DT 91 Cedric Killings DT 71 Al Lucas DT 93 Mike Rucker DE 50 Chris Slade DE 96 Jay Williams DE 92 Gillis Wilson DE		Linebackers 59 Darren Hambrick OLB 54 Nate Hemsley OLB 52 Kory Minor OLB 55 Dan Morgan OLB 57 Lester Towns MLB 95 Dean Wells MLB Defensive backs 46 Rashard Anderson CB 40 Jarrod Cooper S 33 Doug Evans CB 27 Deon Grant S 28 Deveron Harper CB 37 Jimmy Hitchcock CB 23 Reggie Howard CB 30 Mike Minter S 39 Damien Richardson S Special teams  4 John Kasay K 56 Jason Kyle LS 10 Todd Sauerbrun P		Reserve lists 21 Tim Biakabutuka RB (IR) 10px 22 Dee Brown RB (IR) 10px 64 Larry Chester DT (IR) 10px  2 Dameyune Craig QB (IR) 10px 65 Kevin Donnalley G (IR) 10px 98 John Milem DE (IR) 10px 53 Hannibal Navies LB (IR) 10px 97 Jason Peter DE (IR) 10px 85 Wesley Walls TE (IR) 10px Practice squad 12 Anthony Bright WR 74 Derrick Fletcher G 24 Morgan Kane RB Rookies in italics 53 Active, 9 Inactive, 3 Practice squad

Schedule

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
Final score			Team record
1	September 9, 2001	at Minnesota Vikings	W 24–13	1–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,108
2	September 23, 2001	at Atlanta Falcons	L 16–24	1–1	Georgia Dome	47,804
3	September 30, 2001	Green Bay Packers	L 7–28	1–2	Ericsson Stadium	73,120
4	October 7, 2001	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–24	1–3	3Com Park	66,944
5	October 14, 2001	New Orleans Saints	L 25–27	1–4	Ericsson Stadium	72,049
6	October 21, 2001	at Washington Redskins	L 14–17 (OT)	1–5	FedEx Field	74,480
7	October 28, 2001	New York Jets	L 12–13	1–6	Ericsson Stadium	72,642
8	November 4, 2001	at Miami Dolphins	L 6–23	1–7	Pro Player Stadium	72,597
9	November 11, 2001	at St. Louis Rams	L 14–48	1–8	Dome at America's Center	66,069
10	November 18, 2001	San Francisco 49ers	L 22–25 (OT)	1–9	Ericsson Stadium	72,665
11	November 25, 2001	Atlanta Falcons	L 7–10	1–10	Ericsson Stadium	72,234
12	December 2, 2001	at New Orleans Saints	L 23–27	1–11	Louisiana Superdome	70,020
13	December 9, 2001	at Buffalo Bills	L 24–25	1–12	Ralph Wilson Stadium	44,549
14	Bye
15	December 23, 2001	St. Louis Rams	L 32–38	1–13	Ericsson Stadium	72,438
16	December 30, 2001	Arizona Cardinals	L 7–30	1–14	Ericsson Stadium	72,025
17	January 6, 2002	New England Patriots	L 6–38	1–15	Ericsson Stadium	71,907

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) St. Louis Rams	14	2	0	.875	503	273	W6
(5) San Francisco 49ers	12	4	0	.750	409	282	W1
New Orleans Saints	7	9	0	.438	333	409	L4
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	291	377	L2
Carolina Panthers	1	15	0	.063	253	410	L15