The 2001 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 3rd and final under head coach George Seifert. 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 Panthers instead suffered one of the worst seasons in NFL history, en route to going 1–15.
| 2001 Carolina Panthers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Jerry Richardson |
| Head coach | George Seifert |
| Home field | Ericsson Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 1–15 |
| Division place | 5th NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | TE Wesley Walls WR Steve Smith P Todd Sauerbrun |
The Panthers defeated the Minnesota Vikings in their opening game of the season, and then became the first team in the Super Bowl era to lose fifteen consecutive games afterwards. The Panthers were the only team since the expansion to 16 games in 1978 to have won their opener and lose the remainder of the season until the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars became the second team to accomplish this feat.[1]
The Panthers consequently beat the record for most consecutive losses during a single NFL season that had been shared by the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1980 New Orleans Saints, 1981 Baltimore Colts and 1990 New England Patriots. This record has since been broken by two winless teams: the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns. The 2001 Panthers also became the seventh team to finish 1–15 .
By the end of the season, the Panthers had become so incapacitated that only about 16,000 fans showed up to see them play in their finale against the New England Patriots, who eventually went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI. Coincidentally, the Panthers would face the Patriots two seasons later in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Following their terrible season, head coach George Seifert was fired and replaced by New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox.
Despite having the worst record in the league, the Panthers did not have the number-one overall draft pick in the 2002 NFL Draft due to the debut season of the expansion Houston Texans. This feat would be repeated in 2023, when the Panthers trade their number-one overall draft pick to the Chicago Bears.
In 2015, the Panthers went 15–1, becoming the first team in NFL history to have both 15 losses and 15 wins in a season; the 2023 team also went on to have a 15 loss season, finishing 2–15. To date, this remains the Panthers' worst season in franchise history.
Offseason
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 | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Goings | Running back | Pittsburgh |
| Nathan Hodel | Long snapper | Illinois |
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Vikings | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Date: September 9
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: None (played indoors)
- Game attendance: 64,108
- Referee: Wayne McKreight
- TV announcers (Fox): Ray Bentley, Jeff Lageman, and Mike Goldberg
- Recap
| Game information |
|---|
This would be Carolina's only victory of the 2001 season. The Panthers would not win again until week 1 of the 2002 season.
Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Falcons | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: September 23
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: None (played indoors)
- Game attendance: 47,804
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV: Fox
- Recap
| Game information |
|---|
Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 0 | 6 | 15 | 7 | 28 |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Date: September 30
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C)
- Game attendance: 73,120
- Referee: Tony Corrente
- TV: Fox
- Recap
| Game information |
|---|
Week 4: at San Francisco 49ers
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| 49ers | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California
- Date: October 7
- Game time: 8:30 p.m. EDT/5:30 p.m. PDT
- Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
- Game attendance: 66,944
- Referee: Terry McAulay
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, and Suzy Kolber
- Recap
Week 5: vs. New Orleans Saints
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints | 10 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| Panthers | 0 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 25 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Date: October 14
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C)
- Game attendance: 72,049
- Referee: Ron Winter
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 6: at Washington Redskins
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
- Date: October 21
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C)
- Game attendance: 74,480
- Referee: Bill Carollo
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 7: vs. New York Jets
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Panthers | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Date: October 28
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C)
- Game attendance: 72,642
- Referee: Bill Leavy
- TV: CBS
- Recap
| Game information |
|---|
Both offenses struggled throughout the game as the Jets gained 358 yards of total offense, but turned the ball over four times; conversely, the Panthers only had one turnover, but only gained 162 yards of total offense. Carolina scored first, with Rashard Anderson recovering a fumble and returning it 94 yards for a touchdown, but John Kasay missed the extra point. New York would respond late in the second quarter, with Chris Hayes returning a blocked punt 7 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers would score six unanswered points with a pair of 45-yard field goals from Kasay to go up 12–7 early in the third. However, Kasay's missed extra point would prove to be costly as the Jets would respond with two field goals of their own to win 13–12.
Week 8: at Miami Dolphins
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Dolphins | 3 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
Week 9: at St. Louis Rams
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Rams | 21 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 48 |
at Dome at America's Center, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: November 11
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: None (played indoors)
- Game attendance: 66,069
- Referee: Johnny Grier
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 10: vs. San Francisco 49ers
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 25 |
| Panthers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 22 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Date: November 18
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
- Game attendance: 72,665
- Referee: Gerry Austin
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 11: vs. Atlanta Falcons
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Date: November 25
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C)
- Game attendance: 72,234
- Referee: Tony Corrente
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 12: at New Orleans Saints
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 23 |
| Saints | 0 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Date: December 2
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: None (played indoors)
- Game attendance: 70,020
- Referee: Bill Leavy
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 13: at Buffalo Bills
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Bills | 3 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 25 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Date: December 9
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C)
- Game attendance: 44,549
- Referee: Bill Carollo
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 15: vs. St. Louis Rams
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Panthers | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 32 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Date: December 23
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C)
- Game attendance: 72,438
- Referee: Gerry Austin
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 16: vs. Arizona Cardinals
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 7 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 30 |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Date: December 30
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C)
- Game attendance: 72,025
- Referee: Mike Carey
- TV: Fox
- Recap
Week 17: vs. New England Patriots
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 10 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 38 |
| Panthers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
| Game information |
|---|
With the loss, the Panthers lost their 15th game in a row and finished the season at 1–15. The Panthers finished with the worst record in the NFL, but only received the second overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft due to the first overall pick being awarded to the Houston Texans, an expansion team. This would be the last game the Panthers played as a member of the NFC West as they were moved to the newly formed NFC South starting next season. Carolina was joined by New Orleans, Atlanta (both also coming from the NFC West), and Tampa Bay (from the NFC Central, which was renamed to the NFC North).
Head coach George Seifert would be fired the following day, finishing his tenure at Carolina with a record of 16–32 and zero playoff appearances.[4]
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 |