2002 Carolina Panthers season

The 2002 season was the Carolina Panthers' eighth in the National Football League and their first under head coach John Fox. They tried to improve upon their 1–15 record in 2001, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

2002 Carolina Panthers season
Owner	Jerry Richardson
Head coach	John Fox
General manager	Marty Hurney
Home field	Ericsson Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th NFC South
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	DT Kris Jenkins P Todd Sauerbrun
AP All-Pros	DT Kris Jenkins (1st team) P Todd Sauerbrun (1st team)

After moving from the NFC West to the more geographically accurate NFC South, they improved by six games to finish 7–9, but were still five games behind the division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and failed to make the playoffs.

Offseason

Signings	Departures
DE Shane Burton (Jets)	WR Donald Hayes (Patriots)
CB Terry Cousin (Dolphins)	FB Chris Hetherington (Rams)
LB Mark Fields (Rams)	DE Jay Williams (Dolphins)

NFL Draft

The 2002 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 15 and April 16, 2002. The Panthers selected nine players in seven rounds. Despite having the worst record in the league the previous season, the Panthers picked 2nd overall due to the Houston Texans picking first overall in their inaugural draft, as is tradition with expansion teams.

NFL Draft

2002 Carolina Panthers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	2	Julius Peppers *	DE	North Carolina
2	34	DeShaun Foster	RB	UCLA
3	73	Will Witherspoon	LB	Georgia
4	100	Dante Wesley	CB	Arkansas-Pine Bluff
5	137	Randy Fasani	QB	Stanford
5	145	Kyle Johnson	FB	Syracuse
6	174	Keith Heinrich	TE	Sam Houston State
7	213	Pete Campion	G	North Dakota State
7	258	Brad Franklin	CB	Louisiana-Lafayette
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

2002 Carolina Panthers staff

	Front office Owner/Founder – Jerry Richardson President – Mark Richardson General Manager – Marty Hurney Director of Player Personnel – Jack Bushofsky Head coaches Head Coach – John Fox Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Dan Henning Running Backs – Jim Skipper Wide Receivers – Richard Williamson Tight Ends – Don Breaux Offensive Line – Paul Boudreau Offensive Assistant/Quarterbacks – Mike McCoy			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Jack Del Rio Defensive Line – Mike Trgovac Linebackers – Sam Mills Secondary – Rod Perry Defensive Assistant – Alvin Reynolds Defensive Assistant – Sal Sunseri Special teams coaches Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams – Scott O'Brien Assistant Special Teams Coordinator/Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Darrin Simmons Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jerry Simmons

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Roster

2002 Carolina Panthers final roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Randy Fasani  9 Rodney Peete 16 Chris Weinke Running backs 22 Dee Brown 37 Nick Goings 42 Skip Hicks 45 Brad Hoover FB 33 Joe Montgomery 32 Rod Smart Wide receivers 83 Nathan Black 82 Isaac Byrd 88 Karl Hankton 87 Muhsin Muhammad 89 Steve Smith RS Tight ends 49 Shawn Draper 86 Kris Mangum 85 Wesley Walls 84 Jermaine Wiggins		Offensive linemen 65 Kevin Donnalley G 74 Derrick Fletcher G 78 Jeno James G 60 Jeff Mitchell C 63 Jamar Nesbit G 76 Tutan Reyes T 75 Todd Steussie T 73 Melvin Tuten T 66 Louis Williams C Defensive linemen 99 Brentson Buckner DT 98 Shane Burton DT 92 Mario Fatafehi DT 77 Kris Jenkins DT 97 Kemp Rasmussen DE 93 Mike Rucker DE 91 Josh Taves DE 96 Al Wallace DE		Linebackers 52 Brian Allen OLB 58 Mark Fields OLB 50 Brad Jackson MLB 52 Kory Minor OLB 53 Hannibal Navies OLB 54 Will Witherspoon MLB Defensive backs 35 Deke Cooper SS 21 Terry Cousin CB 36 Brad Franklin CB 27 Deon Grant FS 23 Reggie Howard CB 25 Emmanuel McDaniel CB 30 Mike Minter SS 39 Damien Richardson FS 29 Dante Wesley CB Special teams 11 Shayne Graham K 56 Jason Kyle LS 10 Todd Sauerbrun P		Reserve lists 46 Rashard Anderson CB (Suspended) 24 Michael Bates RB (IR) 40 Jarrod Cooper S (IR) 28 Terry Fair CB (IR) 20 DeShaun Foster RB (IR) 94 Sean Gilbert DT (IR) 80 Keith Heinrich TE (IR)  4 John Kasay K (IR) 55 Dan Morgan LB (IR) 90 Julius Peppers DE (Suspended) 71 Fernando Smith DE (IR) 26 Lamar Smith RB (IR)  3 Ryan Tolhurst WR (IR) 57 Lester Towns LB (IR) Practice squad 15 Rob Johnson WR 12 Chris Robinson S 62 Tim Stuber G 18 Bashir Yamini WR Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV	Time (ET)	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 8, 2002	Baltimore Ravens	W 10–7	CBS	1:00 pm	1–0	Ericsson Stadium	70,386
2	September 15, 2002	Detroit Lions	W 31–7	FOX	1:00 pm	2–0	Ericsson Stadium	71,951
3	September 22, 2002	at Minnesota Vikings	W 21–14	FOX	1:00 pm	3–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,945
4	September 29, 2002	at Green Bay Packers	L 14–17	FOX	1:00 pm	3–1	Lambeau Field	63,329
5	October 6, 2002	Arizona Cardinals	L 13–16	FOX	1:00 pm	3–2	Ericsson Stadium	72,286
6	October 13, 2002	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–14	FOX	1:00 pm	3–3	Texas Stadium	61,773
7	October 20, 2002	at Atlanta Falcons	L 0–30	FOX	1:00 pm	3–4	Georgia Dome	68,056
8	October 27, 2002	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 9–12	FOX	1:00 pm	3–5	Ericsson Stadium	72,892
9	Bye
10	November 10, 2002	New Orleans Saints	L 24–34	FOX	1:00 pm	3–6	Ericsson Stadium	72,566
11	November 17, 2002	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–23	FOX	4:05 pm	3–7	Raymond James Stadium	65,527
12	November 24, 2002	Atlanta Falcons	L 0–41	FOX	1:00 pm	3–8	Ericsson Stadium	72,533
13	December 1, 2002	at Cleveland Browns	W 13–6	FOX	1:00 pm	4–8	Cleveland Browns Stadium	72,718
14	December 8, 2002	Cincinnati Bengals	W 52–31	CBS	1:00 pm	5–8	Ericsson Stadium	66,799
15	December 15, 2002	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–30	FOX	1:00 pm	5–9	Heinz Field	58,586
16	December 22, 2002	Chicago Bears	W 24–14	FOX	1:00 pm	6–9	Ericsson Stadium	72,602
17	December 29, 2002	at New Orleans Saints	W 10–6	FOX	1:00 pm	7–9	Louisiana Superdome	66,946

Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 2: Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	7	0	7
Panthers	0	10	14	7	31

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

• Date: September 15, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C)
• Game attendance: 71,951
• Referee: Gerald Austin (34)
• TV announcers (FOX): Kenny Albert, Tim Green, and Paul Butler
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter CAR – John Kasay 23-yard field goal, 3:27. Panthers 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 2:09. CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 22-yard pass from Rodney Peete (John Kasay kick), 0:16. Panthers 10–0. Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 0:46. Third quarter DET – Mike McMahon 11-yard run (Jason Hanson kick), 8:21. Panthers 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 3:10. CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (John Kasay kick), 6:44. Panthers 17–7. Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 1:37. CAR – Mike Minter 40-yard interception return (John Kasay kick), 5:49. Panthers 24–7. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 1-yard run (John Kasay kick), 9:43. Panthers 31–7. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:44. Top passers DET – Mike McMahon – 9/23, 95 yards, INT CAR – Rodney Peete – 21/32, 310 yards, TD Top rushers DET – James Stewart – 12 rushes, 53 yards CAR – Lamar Smith – 20 rushes, 60 yards, 2 TD Top receivers DET – Scotty Anderson – 2 receptions, 31 yards CAR – Muhsin Muhammad – 8 receptions, 107 yards, TD

Week 4: at Green Bay Packers

Week 4: Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	0	0	7	14
Packers	3	7	0	7	17

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: September 29, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Overcast, 65 °F (18 °C)
• Game attendance: 63,329
• Referee: Bill Carollo (63)
• TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter GB – Ryan Longwell 30-yard field goal, 8:52. Packers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 5:07. CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 0:23. Panthers 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:50. Second quarter GB – Donald Driver 31-yard pass from Bubba Franks (Ryan Longwell kick), 1:43. Packers 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:04. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:55. Panthers 14–10. Drive: 5 plays, 53 yards, 2:51. GB – Donald Driver 22-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 4:10. Packers 17–14. Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 2:19. Top passers CAR – Rodney Peete – 10/24, 202 yards GB – Brett Favre – 18/32, 200 yards, TD, INT Top rushers CAR – Lamar Smith – 22 rushes, 66 yards, 2 TD GB – Ahman Green – 17 rushes, 73 yards Top receivers CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 116 yards GB – Donald Driver – 5 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD

Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 16: Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	7	14
Panthers	0	21	0	3	24

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

• Date: December 22, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 pm
• Game weather: Sunny, 56 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 72,602
• Referee: Terry McAulay (77)
• TV announcers (FOX): Pat Summerall, Brian Baldinger, and Dan Jiggetts
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter CHI – Dez White 76-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Paul Edinger kick), 14:13. Bears 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:47. Second quarter CAR – Dee Brown 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:12. Tied 7–7. Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 2:33. CAR – Dee Brown 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 8:38. Panthers 14–7. Drive: 3 plays, 11 yards, 0:51. CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 3-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Shayne Graham kick), 3:52. Panthers 21–7. Drive: 4 plays, 41 yards, 1:54. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter CHI – Dez White 5-yard pass from Henry Burris (Paul Edinger kick), 11:48. Panthers 21–14. Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:32. CAR – Shayne Graham 25-yard field goal, 5:16. Panthers 24–14. Drive: 4 plays, -1 yard, 2:08. Top passers CHI – Chris Chandler – 7/8, 113 yards, TD CAR – Rodney Peete – 18/35, 179 yards, TD Top rushers CHI – Leon Johnson – 16 rushes, 29 yards CAR – Dee Brown – 23 rushes, 55 yards, 2 TD Top receivers CHI – Dez White – 2 receptions, 81 yards, 2 TD CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 4 receptions, 97 yards

Standings

NFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	346	196	W1
^(6) Atlanta Falcons	9	6	1	.594	4–2	7–5	402	314	L1
New Orleans Saints	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	432	388	L3
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	258	302	W2

References

1. "Assistant Coaches". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2014.