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]
Michigan Panthers | |
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Established 2021 Play in Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan https://twitter.com/USFLPanthers | |
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League/conference affiliations | |
United States Football League (2022–present)
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Current uniform | |
Team colors | Royal plum, champagne silver, light blue |
Mascot | Pablo |
Personnel | |
Owner(s) | National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC, (Fox Sports) |
General manager | Steve Kazor |
Head coach | Mike Nolan |
Team history | |
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Championships | |
League championships (0) | |
Conference championships (0) | |
Division championships (0) | |
Playoff appearances (1) | |
2023 | |
Home stadium(s) | |
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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]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
Unrestricted FAs
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Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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Player History
Current NFL Players
USFL Season | Pos | Name | NFL Team |
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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 |
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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 |
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2023 | Frank Ginda | LB | USFL |
Coach History
Head Coach history
# | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
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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 | |||||
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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 | |||||
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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.
USFL champions† | Division champions^ | Wild Card berth# |
Season | Team | League | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | ||||||
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Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct | ||||||||
2022 | 2022 | USFL | North | 3rd | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | – | – | ||
2023 | 2023 | USFL | North | 2nd# | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | Lost 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 | ||||
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Leader | Player | Record | Years with Panthers | |
Single season | ||||
Passing | Shea Patterson | 1,020 passing yards | 2022 | |
Rushing | Reggie Corbin | 519 rushing yards | 2022 | |
Receiving | Lance Lenoir | 484 receiving yards | 2022 | |
Coaching wins | Mike Nolan | 4 wins | 2023 | |
Sacks | Breeland Speaks | 7.0 sacks | 2023 | |
Interceptions | Frank Ginda | 3 interceptions | 2023 | |
Franchise[lower-alpha 1] | ||||
Passing | Josh Love | 1,630 passing yards | 2022–2023 | |
Rushing | Reggie Corbin | 809 rushing yards | 2022–2023 | |
Receiving | Joe Walker | 576 receiving yards | 2022–2023 | |
Coaching wins | Mike Nolan | 4 wins | 2023 | |
Sacks | Breeland Speaks | 7.0 sacks | 2023 | |
Interceptions | Frank Ginda | 3 interceptions | 2022–present |
References
- https://www.foxsports.com/stories/usfl/usfl-north-division-championship-live-updates-panthers-vs-maulers
- https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2023/1/26/23572525/usfls-michigan-panthers-will-play-at-ford-field-in-2023
- "USFL unveils team cities, nicknames and logos for 2022 debut". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
- "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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "USFL hires new general managers for two teams". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- 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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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
- Does not include the previous iteration of the Michigan Panthers.