List of Carolina Panthers head coaches

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Ron Rivera (left), the fourth and former head coach of the Carolina Panthers, signing autographs with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell Ron Rivera (cropped).jpg
Ron Rivera (left), the fourth and former head coach of the Carolina Panthers, signing autographs with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell

The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the southern division of the National Football Conference (NFC), one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL). Since the team began play in 1995, there have been ten (seven full-time and three interim) head coaches. [1] In the NFL, head coaches are responsible for managing the team and setting the game plan; play-calling duties are either made by the head coach or delegated by him to an assistant coach. [2]

Contents

The team's first head coach, Dom Capers, led the team for its first four seasons, recording a regular-season record of 30–34 (.469 winning percentage). [1] in 1996. [3] Capers was named coach of the year by Pro Football Weekly/PFWA in 1995 and 1996; he was also awarded coach of the year by several other organizations in 1996, including the Associated Press, the Maxwell Football Club, Sporting News , and United Press International. [4] After Capers' dismissal following the 1998 season, the team brought in George Seifert as their second head coach. Over Seifert's three seasons the team never made the playoffs and the team had a regular-season record of 16–32 (.333 winning percentage). [1] John Fox, the team's third coach, was the longest-tenured coach in team history. In his nine seasons as head coach the Panthers recorded a regular-season record of 73–71 (.507), the most wins for a head coach in team history, and a playoff record of 5–3. The team's fourth head coach, Ron Rivera, served nine seasons as head coach and had a record of 76–63–1 (.546) during his tenure, with a 3–4 record in the playoffs. Rivera has the highest winning percentage of any coach in team history. Rivera led the team to a record four playoff appearances, including three straight division titles. [1]

Capers led the team to a playoff appearance in the 1996 season, winning once at home before losing in the NFC Championship Game to the Green Bay Packers. [3] Fox led the team to three playoff appearances (2003, 2005, and 2008), winning the NFC Championship in 2003 before losing in Super Bowl XXXVIII to the New England Patriots and making the NFC Championship game in 2005 before losing to the Seattle Seahawks. [3] Rivera led the team to three straight playoff appearances from 2013 to 2015, culminating in a loss in Super Bowl 50. He returned the team to the playoffs in 2017, losing in the Wild Card round.

On January 25, 2024, the team agreed to terms with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as the seventh full-time head coach in franchise history Thursday.

"Dave's background is rooted in success," Panthers owner David Tepper said. "He has an innovative mindset and positive energy that connects well with players and staff. We are impressed with his ability to bring out the best in players."

Key

#Number of coaches [N 1]
YrsYears coached
FirstFirst season coached
LastLast season coached
GCGames Coached
WWins
LLoses
TTies
Win%Win – Loss percentage
*Spent entire NFL head coaching career with the Panthers

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct as of end of the 2024 NFL season.
#ImageNameTerm [N 2] Regular seasonPlayoffsAccomplishmentsRef.
YrsFirstLastGCWLTWin%GCWL
1 Dom Capers.jpg Dom Capers 4 1995 1998 6430340.4692111 NFC West Championship (1996)
1 Playoff Berth
1 AP NFL Coach of the Year (1996)
1 Earle "Greasy" Neale Award for Professional Coach of the Year (1996)
2 Pro Football Weekly/PFWA NFL Coach of the Year (1995, 1996)
1 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1996)
1 UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1996)		 [5]
2 George Seifert 3 1999 2001 4816320.333— [6]
3 John-Fox NFL-Coaches-Tour June-2010.jpg John Fox 9 2002 2010 14473710.5078531 NFC Championship (2003)
2 NFC South Championships (2003, 2008)
3 Playoff Berths 		[7]
4 Ron Rivera (28639710560).jpg Ron Rivera 9 2011 2019 [N 3] 14076631.5467341 NFC Championship (2015)
3 NFC South Championships (2013, 2014, 2015)
4 Playoff Berths
2 PFWA and AP NFL Coach of the Year (2013, 2015) [8] 		[9]
5 Perry Fewell 1 2019 [N 3] 4040.000— [10]
6 2017-0718-Big12MD-MattRhule.jpg Matt Rhule *3 2020 2022 [N 4] 3811270.289— [11]
7 Steve Wilks 1 2022 [N 4] 12660.500— [12]
8 Frank Reich Behind enemy lines (cropped).png Frank Reich 1 2023 [N 5] 111100.091— [13]
9 Chris Tabor *16150.167— [14]
10 Dave Canales *1 2024–present175120.294— [15]

Notes

  1. ↑ A running total of the number of coaches of the Panthers. Thus, any coach who has two or more terms as head coach is only counted once.
  2. ↑ Each year is linked to an article about that particular NFL season.
  3. 1 2 On December 3, Rivera was fired after nearly nine seasons as head coach and due to new ownership wanting a change within the organization.
  4. 1 2 After a 1–4 start from the team, the Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule was replaced with defensive passing game coordinator Steve Wilks.
  5. ↑ Following the team's Week 12 loss to the Tennessee Titans, not only did the Panthers fail to improve upon their 7–10 record from 2022, but they also fired Reich and named Chris Tabor as interim head coach.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Head Coaches". Carolina Panthers. November 11, 2013. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  2. ↑ Pompei, Dan (February 1, 2009). "NFL head coaches have decisions to make on play-calling duties". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Carolina Panthers Playoff History". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Honors". Carolina Panthers. November 11, 2013. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Dom Capers Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  6. ↑ "George Seifert Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  7. ↑ "John Fox Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ "Ron Rivera Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Perry Fewell Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Matt Rhule Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Steve Wilks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Frank Reich Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Chris Tabor Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Dave Canales Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
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