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Michigan Panthers (2022)

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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 November 22, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-11-22)
Play in Ford Field (Detroit, Michigan)
League/conference affiliations
United States Football League (2022–2023)
  • North Division (2022–2023)

United Football League (2024–present)

  • USFL Conference (2024–present)
Current uniform
Team colorsRoyal plum, champagne silver, light blue
     
Personnel
Owner(s)Fox Corporation (50%), Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, RedBird Capital Partners (50%)
Head coachMike Nolan
Team history
  • Michigan Panthers (2022–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (2)
Home stadium(s)

The Michigan Panthers are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Panthers compete in the United Football League (UFL). The team is owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha Acquico and Fox Corporation. The team plays its home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit, which also hosts the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL).[1]

History

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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.[2] 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.[3]

The Panthers selected Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson with the first overall pick in the 2022 USFL draft.[4] In the first two games of 2022, the Panthers lost to the Houston Gamblers and New Jersey Generals.[5][6] On May 1, 2022, the team won their first ever game with a 24–0 win at Protective Stadium against the Pittsburgh Maulers.[7] 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.[8]

In October, 2022, the Panthers hired Steve Kazor as general manager.[9] 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.[10] On February 3, 2023, the USFL announced that Fisher had been replaced as head coach by Mike Nolan, citing only "personal reasons."[11]

A game between the Panthers (left) and the Houston Roughnecks in Houston in 2024

In September 2023, Axios reported that the XFL was in advanced talks with the USFL to merge the two leagues prior to the start of their 2024 seasons.[12] On September 28, 2023, the XFL and USFL announced their intent to merge with details surrounding the merger to be announced at a later date.[13] The merger would also require regulatory approval.[14] In October 2023 the XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League".[15] On November 30, 2023, Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had received regulatory approval for the merger and were finalizing plans for a "combined season" to begin March 30, 2024.[16] The merger was made official on December 31, 2023.[17]

Current roster

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Players

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Michigan Panthers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • 35 Toa Taua

Wide receivers

  • -- Gavin Holmes
  • -- Xavier Malone
  • 12 Devin Ross

Tight ends

  • 84 Gunner Oakes
 Offensive linemen
  • 73 Jake Burton G
  • 69 Cohl Cabral G
  • -- Victor Curne T
  • -- Brian Dooley T
  • 64 Joshua Dunlop T
  • -- J. D. Duplain T
  • 79 Jarrett Horst T
  • 61 Noah Johnson C
  • 75 Ryan Nelson G
  • 77 Ryan Pope T
  • -- Keith Russell T
  • 65 James Walker G

Defensive linemen

  • 98 Levi Bell DE
  • 43 Vantrel McMillan DE
  • 94 Keonte Schad DT
  • 95 Mika Tafua DE
 Linebackers
  • 23 De'Gabriel Floyd ILB

Defensive backs

  •  7 Corrion Ballard FS
  • -- Akeem Dent FS
  •  6 Keith Gipson Jr. CB
  • -- Gemon Green CB
  • 24 Kiante Hardin CB
  • 29 Sean Mahone SS
  • 13 Bryce Torneden CB
  • 32 Kedrick Whitehead Jr. FS

Special teams

  • -- Simon Laryea P
  • 44 Jordan Ober LS
 Reserve lists

Unsigned draft picks

  • -- Andrew Meyer C



Roster updated November 21, 2024

62 active, 7 unsigned

Staff

[edit]
2024 Michigan Panthers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator/Defensive line – Collin Bauer
  • Linebackers – Christian Runza
  • Defensive backs – Brock Marion




Player history

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Current NFL players

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Season Pos Name NFL team
2023 CB Josh Butler Dallas Cowboys
2023 WR D. J. Montgomery Indianapolis Colts
2024 K Jake Bates Detroit Lions
2024 CB Nate Brooks Cincinnati Bengals
2022–2024 DT Walter Palmore Carolina Panthers
2024 RB Nate McCrary Green Bay Packers
2023–2024 QB E. J. Perry Jacksonville Jaguars

Notable Players

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Season Pos Name Notes
2023 DT Robert Nkemdiche Former Arizona Cardinals Defensive Tackle, 2016 1st Round Pick
2024 WR Corey Coleman Former Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver, 2016 1st Round Pick

Defensive Player of the Year award winners

[edit]
Panthers USFL DPOY winners
Year Player Position Selector
2023 Frank Ginda LB USFL
2024 Breeland Speaks DE UFL

Coach history

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Head coach history

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# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Michigan Panthers
1 Jeff Fisher 2022 10 2 8 .200 0 0 0
2 Mike Nolan 2023–present 20 11 9 .550 1 0 2 *2024 UFL Coach of the Year

Offensive coordinator history

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# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Michigan Panthers
1 Eric Marty 2022-2023 20 6 14 .300 1 0 1
2 Marcel Bellefeuille 2024–present 10 7 3 .700 1 0 1

Defensive coordinator history

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# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Michigan Panthers
1 Daniel Carrell 2022 10 2 8 .200 0 0 0
2 Steve Brown 2023 10 4 6 .400 1 0 1
2 Collin Bauer 2024–present 10 7 3 .700 1 0 1

Records

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All-time Panthers leaders
Leader Player Record Years with Panthers
Passing Yards Josh Love 1,630 passing yards 2022–2023
Passing Touchdowns Josh Love 15 passing touchdowns 2022–2023
Rushing Reggie Corbin 809 rushing yards 2022–2023
Rushing Touchdowns Wes Hills 5 rushing touchdowns 2024–present
Receiving Yards Trey Quinn 731 receiving yards 2022–2023
Receiving Touchdowns Cole Hikutini 6 receiving touchdowns 2023–present
Receptions Joe Walker 66 receptions 2022–2023
Tackles Frank Ginda 230 tackles 2022–present
Sacks Breeland Speaks 18.5 sacks 2023–present
Interceptions Frank Ginda

Kai Nacua

3 interceptions 2022–present

2023–present

Coaching wins Mike Nolan 11 wins 2023–present

Statistics and records

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Season-by-season record

[edit]
UFL champions† (2024–present) USFL champions§ (2022–2023) Conference champions* Division champions^ Wild Card berth#
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results Awards Head coaches Pct.
Finish W L
2022 2022 USFL North 3rd 2 8 Jeff Fisher .200
2023 2023 USFL North 2nd # 4 6 Lost Division Finals (Maulers) 27–31 (OT) Mike Nolan .550
2024 2024 UFL USFL 2nd # 7 3 Lost USFL Conference Championship (Stallions) 18–31 Mike Nolan COTY

Breeland Speaks DPOTY

Total 13 17 All-time regular season record (2022–2024) .433
0 2 All-time postseason record (2022–2024) .000
13 19 All-time regular season and postseason record (2022–2024) .406

References

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  1. ^ Reisman, Jeremy (January 26, 2023). "USFL's Michigan Panthers will play at Ford Field in 2023". Pride Of Detroit.
  2. ^ "USFL unveils team cities, nicknames and logos for 2022 debut". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "USFL hires new general managers for two teams". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "USFL Michigan Panthers Head Coach Jeff Fisher stepping down ahead of 2023 season". FOX 2 Detroit. February 3, 2023. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  12. ^ Baysinger, Tim; Primack, Dan; Fischer, Sara (September 19, 2023). "Scoop: Football leagues XFL and USFL in merger talks". Axios. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  13. ^ TSN ca Staff (September 28, 2023). "XFL, United States Football League announce intention to merge". TSN. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Schad, Tom (September 28, 2023). "XFL, USFL confirm intention to merge into single spring football league". USA Today. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  15. ^ "XFL files trademark applications for 'United Football League' and 'UFL'". San Antonio Express-News. October 18, 2023.
  16. ^ "We are pleased to have completed the antitrust review process in connection with the proposed merger of the XFL and USFL and intend to play a combined season this spring kicking off on Saturday, March 30. We are now finalizing terms of the definitive agreement and will share more about this new League in the coming weeks". Instagram.
  17. ^ "USFL, XFL announce merger, formation of new spring football league: The UFL". Yahoo Sports. December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
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