The 2010 season was the Carolina Panthers' 16th in the National Football League (NFL), and their ninth and final season under head coach John Fox. They entered the season trying to improve on their 8–8 record from 2009, but failed to do so with a record of 2–14 and were officially eliminated from postseason contention in Week 11. It was the franchise's worst record between going 1–15 in 2001 and finishing 2–15 in 2023. The Panthers finished last in the NFC South for the first time since 2002. In Week 16, the team clinched the NFL's worst record of the year and earned the #1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft. They would go on to select quarterback Cam Newton with that pick. On December 31, 2010, it was announced that the contracts of Fox and his entire coaching staff would not be renewed.
This was the first season since 2001 that Julius Peppers was not on the opening-day roster, as he signed with the Chicago Bears (although he would return for a second and final spell in 2017).
Offseason
NFL draft
The Panthers did not have a first round pick in the 2010 draft as it was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in a deal that got the Panthers a second and fourth round pick in the 2009 NFL draft. The Panthers also traded their fifth round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for defensive tackle Tank Tyler, and their sixth round pick to the Cleveland Browns for defensive tackle Louis Leonard. The Panthers acquired a sixth round pick from the Oakland Raiders from a trade in the 2009 draft that sent a 2009 seventh round pick to the Raiders.
+ Carolina Panthers 2010 NFL Draft selections Draft order Player name Position Height Weight College Contract NotesRoundChoiceOverall 1 17 17Traded to the San Francisco 49ers 2 16 48 Jimmy Clausen Quarterback 6'3" 227 Notre Dame 3 14 78 Brandon LaFell Wide receiver 6'2" 211 LSU 32589 Armanti Edwards Wide receiver 5'11" 187 Appalachian State From Arizona Cardinals through New York Jets 4 26 124 Eric Norwood Linebacker 6'1" 248 South Carolina From Arizona Cardinals through New England Patriots 5 13 144Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs 6 6 175 Greg Hardy Defensive end 6'5" 281 Mississippi From Oakland Raiders 6 17 187Traded to the Cleveland Browns 6 29 175 David Gettis Wide receiver 6'3" 217 Baylor From New York Jets633202 Jordan Pugh Defensive back 5'11" 200 Texas A&M Compensatory selection635204 Tony Pike Quarterback 6'6" 223 Cincinnati Compensatory selection 7 16 223 R.J. Stanford Defensive back 5'11" 180 Utah 742249 Robert McClain Defensive back 5'9" 195 Connecticut Compensatory selection
Free agent signings
Position Player Experience College C Steve Justice 3rd Year Wake Forest WR Wallace Wright 3rd Year North Carolina DB Marcus Hudson 4th Year North Carolina State DT Ed Johnson 4th Year Penn State FS Aaron Francisco 5th Year BYU K Todd Carter 1st Year Grand Valley State CB Brian Witherspoon 3rd Year Stillman College
Roster releases and waivers Position Player 2010 Team QB Jake Delhomme Cleveland Browns DT Damione Lewis New England Patriots LB Landon Johnson Detroit Lions LB Na'il Diggs St. Louis Rams FB Brad Hoover Retired DT Maake Kemoeatu Washington Redskins K Rhys Lloyd Minnesota Vikings QB A.J. Feely St. Louis Rams WR Muhsin Muhammad Retired DE Julius Peppers Chicago Bears QB Josh McCown Hartford Colonials DB Quinton Teal Seattle Seahawks DT Hollis Thomas Retired G Keydrick Vincent Tampa Bay Buccaneers DB Dante Wesley Detroit Lions
Roster
Staff Carolina Panthers 2010 staff Front office Owner/founder – Jerry Richardson President – Danny Morrison General manager – Marty Hurney Director of football operations – Brandon Beane Director of team administration – Rob Rogers Football operations coordinator – Bryan Porter Director of pro scouting – Mark Koncz Director of college scouting – Don Gregory National scout – Jeff Morrow National scout – Mike Szabo Executive assistant to the head coach – Linda O'Hora
Head coaches Head coach – John Fox Assistant head coach/running backs – Jim Skipper
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jeff Davidson Quarterbacks – Rip Scherer Wide receivers – Tyke Tolbert Offensive line – Dave Magazu Offensive quality control/tight ends – Geep Chryst Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ron Meeks Defensive line – Brian Baker Linebackers – Richard Smith Defensive Backs (Secondary) – Mike Gillhamer Defensive backs – Ron Milus Defensive quality control – Sam Mills III
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Jeff Rodgers Special teams assistant – Sam Garnes
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jerry Simmons
Schedule
Preseason
The Panthers preseason schedule was announced on March 31, 2010.
Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site NFL.comrecapFinal scoreTeam record 1 August 12 8:00 p.m. EDT at Baltimore Ravens L 12–17 0–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 2 August 21 8:00 p.m. EDT New York Jets L 3–9 0–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap 3 August 28 8:00 p.m. EDT Tennessee Titans W 15–7 1–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap 4 September 2 7:30 p.m. EDT at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–19 1–3 Heinz Field Recap
Regular season Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results Game site NFL.comrecap Final score Team record 1 September 12 1:00 p.m. EDT at New York Giants L 18–31 0–1 New Meadowlands Stadium Recap 2 September 19 1:00 p.m. EDT Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 7–20 0–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap 3 September 26 1:00 p.m. EDT Cincinnati Bengals L 7–20 0–3 Bank of America Stadium Recap 4 October 3 1:00 p.m. EDT at New Orleans Saints L 14–16 0–4 Louisiana Superdome Recap 5 October 10 1:00 p.m. EDT Chicago Bears L 6–23 0–5 Bank of America Stadium Recap 6 Bye 7 October 24 1:00 p.m. EDT San Francisco 49ers W 23–20 1–5 Bank of America Stadium Recap 8 October 31 1:00 p.m. EDT at St. Louis Rams L10–20 1–6 Edward Jones Dome Recap 9 November 7 1:00 p.m. EST New Orleans Saints L 3–34 1–7 Bank of America Stadium Recap 10 November 14 1:00 p.m. EST at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 16–31 1–8 Raymond James Stadium Recap 11 November 21 1:00 p.m. EST Baltimore Ravens L 13–37 1–9 Bank of America Stadium Recap 12 November 28 1:00 p.m. EST at Cleveland Browns L 23–24 1–10 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 13 December 5 4:15 p.m. EST at Seattle Seahawks L 14–31 1–11 Qwest Field Recap 14 December 12 1:00 p.m. EST Atlanta Falcons L 10–31 1–12 Bank of America Stadium Recap 15 December 19 1:00 p.m. EST Arizona Cardinals W 19–12 2–12 Bank of America Stadium Recap 16 December 23 8:20 p.m. EST at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–27 2–13 Heinz Field Recap 17 January 2 1:00 p.m. EST at Atlanta Falcons L 10–31 2–14 Georgia Dome RecapNOTE: Division games are in bold text.
Standings
Regular season results
Week 1: at New York Giants
The Panthers began their season at New Meadowlands Stadium for an NFC duel with the New York Giants. In the first quarter, Carolina got the stadium's very first points with kicker John Kasay nailing a 21-yard field goal. The Giants would answer with quarterback Eli Manning making a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. In the second quarter, the Panthers slowly retook the lead with Kasay hitting on 52 and 43-yard field goals. The Giants responded with Manning getting a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nicks, but the Panthers replied with quarterback Matt Moore making a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Smith.
In the third quarter, the Panthers fell behind when kicker Lawrence Tynes made a 32-yard field goal, which was extended further with Manning making a 5-yard touchdown pass to Nicks, followed in the fourth quarter by running back Ahmad Bradshaw getting a 4-yard touchdown run. After this point, the Panthers tried to mount a comeback when rookie defensive end Greg Hardy blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety, but the Giants' defense prevented anything else happening.
With the loss, the Panthers began the season at 0–1.
Week 2: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Looking for their first win of the season, the Panthers flew home for a divisional duel against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the first quarter, Tampa Bay struck first with Josh Freeman's 14-yard touchdown pass to running back Earnest Graham. The Panthers responded with Matt Moore throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Smith. The Buccaneers' defense dominated, holding running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to 43 and 54 yards rushing, respectively. Moore completed 6 out of 16 passes with one touchdown and one interception, while being sacked four times. After losing a fumble, he was benched in favor of rookie Jimmy Clausen in hopes for a rally, however the Buccaneers defense prevented any further progress.
With the loss, the Panthers fell to 0–2 for the second straight season.
Week 3: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Still searching for their first win of the season, the Panthers stayed at home for their Week 3 interconference duel with the Cincinnati Bengals. With quarterback Matt Moore struggling, rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen was given the start.
Carolina would trail in the first half as Bengals running back Cedric Benson got a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, followed by kicker Mike Nugent's 33-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Panthers would strike back in the third quarter as running back Jonathan Stewart got a 1-yard touchdown run, but Cincinnati would close out the game in the fourth quarter as Nugent nailed a 50-yard field goal, followed by quarterback Carson Palmer's 7-yard touchdown pass to Benson.
With the loss, Carolina fell to 0–3.
Week 4: at New Orleans Saints
Still looking for their first win the Panthers flew to Louisiana Superdome for an NFC South rivalry match against the Saints. In the first quarter Carolina trailed early as quarterback Drew Brees completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lance Moore. Carolina replied with quarterback Jimmy Clausen making a 55-yard touchdown pass to running back Jonathan Stewart. The Panthers trailed when kicker John Carney nailed a 32-yard field goal, but took the lead when running back DeAngelo Williams made a 39-yard touchdown run. Then John Carney made two field goals to give the Panthers a loss. He made a 32-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter and a 25-yard field goal in the 4th.
With the close loss, the Panthers fell to 0–4.
Week 5: vs. Chicago Bears
Still looking for a win the Panthers played on home ground for an interdivisional NFC duel with the Bears. In the first quarter the Panthers trailed early as running back Matt Forte got an 18-yard touchdown run. The Panthers replied with kicker John Kasay making a 24-yard field goal. The Panthers fell further behind with Forte making a 68-yard touchdown run, followed by a 28-yard field goal from kicker Robbie Gould. In the third quarter the Panthers replied with Kasay making a 53-yard field goal, but in the 4th quarter the Bears pulled away when Gould made a 53 and a 43-yard field goal.
With the loss, Carolina entered their bye week at 0–5.
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: vs. San Francisco 49ers