Michigan Panthers (2022)

The Michigan Panthers are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Panthers compete in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the North Division.[1] The team plays their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit, which also hosts the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL).[2]

This article is about the team in the second edition of the USFL. For the team in the original USFL from the 1980s, see Michigan Panthers.
Michigan Panthers
Current season
Established 2021
Play in Ford Field
in Detroit, Michigan
https://twitter.com/USFLPanthers
League/conference affiliations
United States Football League (2022–present)
  • North Division (2022–present)
Current uniform
Team colorsRoyal plum, champagne silver, light blue
     
MascotPablo
Personnel
Owner(s)National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC, (Fox Sports)
General managerSteve Kazor
Head coachMike Nolan
Team history
  • Michigan Panthers (2022–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (1)
2023
Home stadium(s)

History

The Michigan Panthers were one of eight teams that were officially announced as a USFL franchise on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on November 22, 2021.[3] On January 27, 2022, it was announced on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that former NFL Head coach Jeff Fisher was named the head coach and general manager of the Panthers.[4]

The Panthers selected Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson with the first overall pick in the 2022 USFL draft.[5] In the first two games of 2022, the Panthers lost to the Houston Gamblers and New Jersey Generals.[6][7] On May 1, 2022, the team won their first ever game with a 24–0 win at Protective Stadium against the Pittsburgh Maulers.[8] Losses resumed after that, the Panthers' only other win of the season was against the Maulers, a 33–21 with the winner assuming the rights to the first overall pick in the 2023 USFL draft.[9]

In October, 2022, the Panthers hired Steve Kazor as general manager.[10] After all eight USFL teams played their home games in Birmingham, Alabama, the Panthers moved to the state of Michigan in 2023, announcing Ford Field as their home stadium.[11] On February 3, 2023, the USFL announced that Fisher had been replaced as head coach by Mike Nolan, citing only "personal reasons."[12]

Current Roster

Players

Initially, each team carried a 38-man active roster and a 7-man practice squad, but the rosters were increased to 40 active players and 50 total in May 2022.[13][14]

Michigan Panthers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen
  • 56 Eric Abojei T
  • 64 Joshua Dunlop T
  • -- Jarrett Horst T
  • 61 Noah Johnson C
  • 75 Ryan Nelson G
  • 70 Denzel Okafor T
  • -- Chim Okorafor G
  • 51 Gene Pryor G
  • -- Phil Saleh T
  • -- James Walker G
  • 77 Keith Williams T

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

  • 25 Keandre Evans CB
  • 11 Devin Hafford CB
  • 24 Kiante Hardin CB
  • 29 Sean Mahone S
  • 21 Kai Nacua S
  • 22 Cory Rahman S
  • 22 Tyree Robinson
  • 17 Warren Saba S
  •  1 Levonta Taylor CB
  • -- Javin White CB

Special teams

 Reserve lists

Unrestricted FAs

  •  7 Corrion Ballard S
  • 23 Jalin Burrell CB
  • 52 Shane Griffin LS
  • 12 Josh Love QB
  • 44 Terry Myrick OLB
  • 76 Sean Pollard C


Rookies in italics

Roster updated October 26, 2023

47 active, 6 free agent(s)

→ USFL rosters

Staff
2023 Michigan Panthers staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks – Eric Marty
  • Offensive line – Tim Holt
  • Running backs – Jordan Pavlisin
  • Special teams coordinator/Wide receivers – Jaron Fairman
  • Tight ends – Gary Watkins
 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator/Defensive backs – Steve Brown
  • Defensive line – Collin Bauer
  • Linebackers – Christian Runza



Player History

Current NFL Players
USFL Season Pos Name NFL Team
2023 DE Levi Bell Seattle Seahawks
2023 WR Kaden Davis Arizona Cardinals
2023 WR D. J. Montgomery Indianapolis Colts
2023 CB Josh Butler Dallas Cowboys
2023 WR Trey Quinn Detroit Lions

Notable Players
USFL Season Pos Name Notes
2023 DT Robert Nkemdiche Former Arizona Cardinals 1st Round Pick

USFL Defensive Player of the Year award winners
Panthers USFL DPOY winners
Year Player Position Selector
2023 Frank Ginda LB USFL

Coach History

Head Coach history
# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Michigan Panthers
1 Jeff Fisher 2022 10 2 8 .200 – – –
2 Mike Nolan 2023–present 10 4 6 .400 1 0 1

Offensive Coordinator history
# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Michigan Panthers
1 Eric Marty 2022–present 20 6 14 .300 1 0 1

Defensive Coordinator history
# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Michigan Panthers
1 Daniel Carrel 2022–present 20 5 15 .250 – – –
2 Steve Martin 2023–present 10 4 6 .400 1 0 1

Statistics and records

Season-by-season record

Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.

Legend
USFL champions† Division champions^ Wild Card berth#
Michigan Panthers season-by-season records
Season Team League Division Regular season Postseason results Awards
Finish Wins Losses Ties Pct
20222022 USFLNorth3rd280.200––
20232023 USFLNorth2nd#460.400Lost Division Finals (Maulers) 27–31OT–
Totals 6 14 0 .300 (2022–2023, regular season)
0 1 — .000 (2022–2023, playoffs)
6 15 0 .286 (2022–2023, regular season and playoffs)

Records
All-time Panthers leaders
LeaderPlayerRecordYears with Panthers
Single season
PassingShea Patterson1,020 passing yards2022
RushingReggie Corbin519 rushing yards2022
ReceivingLance Lenoir484 receiving yards2022
Coaching winsMike Nolan4 wins2023
SacksBreeland Speaks7.0 sacks2023
InterceptionsFrank Ginda3 interceptions2023
Franchise[lower-alpha 1]
PassingJosh Love1,630 passing yards2022–2023
RushingReggie Corbin809 rushing yards2022–2023
ReceivingJoe Walker576 receiving yards2022–2023
Coaching winsMike Nolan4 wins2023
SacksBreeland Speaks7.0 sacks2023
InterceptionsFrank Ginda3 interceptions2022–present

References
  1. https://www.foxsports.com/stories/usfl/usfl-north-division-championship-live-updates-panthers-vs-maulers
  2. https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2023/1/26/23572525/usfls-michigan-panthers-will-play-at-ford-field-in-2023
  3. "USFL unveils team cities, nicknames and logos for 2022 debut". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  4. "USFL 2022: Jeff Fisher, Larry Fedora named as final two coaches". Fox Sports. January 27, 2022. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  5. McMann, Aaron (February 25, 2022). "The USFL helps keep ex-Michigan QB Shea Patterson's dream alive". MLive.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  6. Ryan Ford (April 17, 2022). "Michigan Panthers lose 17-12 to Houston Gamblers: Game thread replay". www.freep.com. USA TODAY Network. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  7. Ryan Ford (April 22, 2022). "Michigan Panthers now 0-2 after 10-6 loss to the New Jersey Generals: Game thread replay". www.freep.com. USA TODAY Network. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  8. Madison Jones (May 1, 2022). "USFL Score, highlights: Michigan Panthers shutout Pittsburgh Maulers, 24-0, to win first game of the season". www.sports.nbcsports.com. NBC Universal. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  9. Jeff Kerr (June 19, 2022). "USFL Week 10 takeaways: Panthers earn first pick in 2023 draft by winning matchup of two worst teams". www.cbssports.com. CBS Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  10. "USFL hires new general managers for two teams". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  11. Tony Paul (January 24, 2023). "USFL's Michigan Panthers will play at Ford Field in 2023; EMU may host practices". www.detroitnews.com. The Detroit News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  12. "USFL Michigan Panthers Head Coach Jeff Fisher stepping down ahead of 2023 season". FOX 2 Detroit. 2023-02-03. Archived from the original on 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  13. "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". ProFootballTalk. 2022-01-04. Archived from the original on 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  14. "USFL expands game-day rosters by two, total rosters by five". ProFootballTalk. 2022-05-18. Archived from the original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.

Notes
  1. Does not include the previous iteration of the Michigan Panthers.


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