Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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| 1998 Carolina Panthers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Jerry Richardson |
| Head coach | Dom Capers |
| Home field | Ericsson Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–12 |
| Division place | 4th NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | TE Wesley Walls WR Michael Bates LB Kevin Greene |
| AP All-Pros | None |
The 1998 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the fourth and final under head coach Dom Capers. They tried to improve upon their 7-9 record in 1997, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history, but failed and finished at a franchise worst 4–12 in 1998 and fourth of five teams in the NFC West. Capers was fired at the end of the season and replaced by George Seifert.
The 1998 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 18 and April 19, 1998. The Panthers selected eight players in seven rounds.
| 1998 Carolina Panthers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Jason Peter | Defensive tackle | Nebraska | |
| 3 | 62 | Chuck Wiley | Defensive end | LSU | |
| 3 | 73 | Mitch Marrow | Defensive end | Pennsylvania | |
| 4 | 106 | Donald Hayes | Wide receiver | Wisconsin | |
| 5 | 136 | Jerry Jensen | Linebacker | Washington | |
| 6 | 165 | Damien Richardson | Defensive back | Arizona State | |
| 7 | 196 | Vili Maumau | Defensive tackle | Colorado | |
| 7 | 228 | Jim Turner | Wide receiver | Syracuse | |
| Made roster | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Dameyune Craig | Quarterback | Auburn |
| Paul Janus | Tackle | Northwestern |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | Atlanta Falcons | L 14–19 | 0–1 | Ericsson Stadium | 65,129 |
| 2 | September 13 | at New Orleans Saints | L 14–19 | 0–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 51,915 |
| 3 | Bye | |||||
| 4 | September 27 | Green Bay Packers | L 30–37 | 0–3 | Ericsson Stadium | 69,723 |
| 5 | October 4 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 23–51 | 0–4 | Georgia Dome | 50,724 |
| 6 | October 11 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 20–27 | 0–5 | Texas Stadium | 64,181 |
| 7 | October 18 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 13–16 | 0–6 | Raymond James Stadium | 63,600 |
| 8 | October 25 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–30 | 0–7 | Ericsson Stadium | 64,050 |
| 9 | November 1 | New Orleans Saints | W 31–17 | 1–7 | Ericsson Stadium | 62,514 |
| 10 | November 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 23–25 | 1–8 | 3Com Park | 68,572 |
| 11 | November 15 | Miami Dolphins | L 9–13 | 1–9 | Ericsson Stadium | 67,887 |
| 12 | November 22 | at St. Louis Rams | W 24–20 | 2–9 | Trans World Dome | 50,716 |
| 13 | November 29 | at New York Jets | L 21–48 | 2–10 | Giants Stadium | 71,501 |
| 14 | December 6 | San Francisco 49ers | L 28–31 (OT) | 2–11 | Ericsson Stadium | 63,332 |
| 15 | December 13 | Washington Redskins | L 25–28 | 2–12 | Ericsson Stadium | 46,940 |
| 16 | December 20 | St. Louis Rams | W 20–13 | 3–12 | Ericsson Stadium | 50,047 |
| 17 | December 27 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 27–19 | 4–12 | RCA Dome | 58,182 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||
| NFC West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (2) Atlanta Falcons | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 442 | 289 | W9 |
| (4) San Francisco 49ers | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 479 | 328 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 305 | 359 | L3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 336 | 413 | W2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 285 | 378 | L2 |
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons were founded on June 30, 1965, and joined the NFL in 1966 as an expansion team, after the NFL offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League (AFL).
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte; which also serves as the team's home field. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, it played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, during its first season in 1995.
Samuel Davis Mills Jr. was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. He also played for three seasons for the Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League (USFL), where he won two championships in 1984 and 1985. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
George Gerald Seifert is an American former football coach. He served as the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Seifert owned the second-greatest winning percentage in NFL history by a head coach at the time of his resignation as the 49ers head coach, second to Guy Chamberlin. Among coaches with at least 100 wins, his winning percentage is fifth best in football history.
Kerry Michael Collins is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panthers, the New York Giants, and the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, winning the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, and the Sammy Baugh Trophy as a senior.
Frank Michael Reich is an American former football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played 14 seasons as a quarterback in the NFL. He became a coach afterwards, including head coaching stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers.
Ernest Dominic Capers is an American football coach who is a senior defensive assistant for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the inaugural head coach of the Panthers and the Houston Texans for four seasons each. Capers is the only head coach to lead two different NFL expansion teams during their first seasons.
John Fox is an American football coach and former player who previously was a senior defensive assistant for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers (2002–2010), Denver Broncos (2011–2014) and Chicago Bears (2015–2017) of the National Football League (NFL). He coached the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII and the Broncos to Super Bowl XLVIII.
Kevin Darwin Greene was an American professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1985 through 1999. He had 160 sacks in his career, which ranks third among NFL career sack leaders, and he was voted to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
The history of the Houston Texans began in 2002, bringing the National Football League back to Houston, Texas after the city's previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to eventually become the Tennessee Titans. The Texans are the newest franchise in the NFL. Despite some growing pains in the first nine years of their existence, the Texans became a more dominant team in the NFL's AFC South division in the 2010s, though they have yet to appear in a Super Bowl or a conference championship game.
The Carolina Panthers' history formally dates back to 1993, when the NFL awarded the franchise to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, began play in the 1995 NFL season as expansion teams. They have played in Charlotte since 1996, winning six division titles and two NFC Championships. The Panthers were the first NFL franchise based in the Carolinas and the second professional sports team based in Charlotte, the first being the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.
The 1999 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League and the 1st and under head coach George Seifert who replaced Dom Capers as head coach. They improved upon their 4–12 record in 1998, and the Panthers went 8–8, their first .500 record in franchise history, but failed to make the playoffs for the fourth time in franchise history.
The 1997 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 3rd season in the National Football League and the 3rd under head coach Dom Capers. They failed to improve upon their 12–4 record in 1996, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history and finished 7–9. The Panthers appeared on Monday Night Football for the first time in franchise history, where they faced the Dallas Cowboys and won by a score of 23–13.
The 1996 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's second season in the National Football League, the second under head coach Dom Capers, and the first at Ericsson Stadium. They improved upon their 7–9 record in 1995, and made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
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.
Victor Mick Fangio is an American football coach who serves as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Fangio also recently served as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. A 41-year coaching veteran with 33 seasons of NFL experience, Fangio was a defensive coordinator for 20 of the last 24 seasons at the NFL or college level before becoming the Broncos' head coach. He served as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator after leading the defenses for the San Francisco 49ers, Stanford University, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers.
