# Michigan Panthers (2022)

The Michigan Panthers are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Panthers compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the USFL Conference. 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).

## 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. 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.
The Panthers selected Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson with the first overall pick in the 2022 USFL draft. In the first two games of 2022, the Panthers lost to the Houston Gamblers and New Jersey Generals. On May 1, 2022, the team won their first ever game with a 24–0 win at Protective Stadium against the Pittsburgh Maulers. 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.
In October, 2022, the Panthers hired Steve Kazor as general manager. 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. On February 3, 2023, the USFL announced that Fisher had been replaced as head coach by Mike Nolan, citing only "personal reasons."
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. 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. The merger would also require regulatory approval. In October 2023 the XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League". 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. The merger was made official on December 31, 2023.

## Player history
### Current NFL players

| 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 |

### Notable players

| Season | Pos | Name | Notes |
| 2023 | DT | Robert Nkemdiche | Former Arizona Cardinals Defensive Tackle, 2016 1st Round Pick |
| 2023–present | DE | Breeland Speaks | Former Kansas City Chiefs Defensive End, 2018 2nd Round Pick |

### Defensive Player of the Year award winners

Panthers USFL DPOY winners :
| Year | Player | Position | Selector |
| 2023 | Frank Ginda | LB | USFL |
| 2024 | Breeland Speaks | DE | UFL |

## Coach history
### Head coach history

| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Awards |
| # | Name | Term | GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | Awards |
| 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

| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Awards |
| # | Name | Term | GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | Awards |
| 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

| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Awards |
| # | Name | Term | GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | Awards |
| 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

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 | 955 rushing yards | 2022–2023 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | Wes Hills E. J. Perry | 5 rushing touchdowns | 2024 2023-2025 |
| Receiving Yards | Trey Quinn | 678 receiving yards | 2022–2024 |
| Receiving Touchdowns | Cole Hikutini | 6 receiving touchdowns | 2023–present |
| Receptions | Joe Walker | 66 receptions | 2022–2023 |
| Tackles | Frank Ginda | 227 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
### Season by season record

| UFL champions$^†$ (2024–present) | USFL champions$^§$ (2022–2023) | Conference champions$^*$ | Division champions$^^$ | Wild Card berth$^#$ |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | Head coaches | Pct. |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Finish | W | L | Postseason results | Awards | Head coaches | Pct. |
| 2022 | 2022 | USFL | | North | 3rd | 2 | 8 | | | Jeff Fisher | .200 |
| 2023 | 2023 | USFL | | North | 2nd $^#$ | 4 | 6 | Lost Division Finals (Maulers) 27–31 (OT) | Frank Ginda (DPOY) Ethan Westbrooks (SMOY) | Mike Nolan | .550 |
| 2024 | 2024 | UFL | USFL | | 2nd $^#$ | 7 | 3 | Lost USFL Conference Championship (Stallions) 18–31 | Mike Nolan COTY Breeland Speaks DPOTY | Mike Nolan | .550 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 13 | 17 | All-time regular season record (2022–2024) | All-time regular season record (2022–2024) | All-time regular season record (2022–2024) | .433 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 0 | 2 | All-time postseason record (2022–2024) | All-time postseason record (2022–2024) | All-time postseason record (2022–2024) | .000 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 13 | 19 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2022–2024) | All-time regular season and postseason record (2022–2024) | All-time regular season and postseason record (2022–2024) | .406 |

### Rivalries
#### Northern Duel

The Michigan Panthers previously shared a rivalry with the New Jersey Generals. This rivalry was called the Northern Duel. The Panthers finished with a 1–3 record against the New Jersey Generals in 2 seasons. After the 2023 season the rivalry was not renewed as the New Jersey Generals folded during the XFL–USFL merger of 2024.

#### Franchise matchup history

| Team | Record | Pct. |
| Arlington Renegades | 1–0 | 1.000 |
| DC Defenders | 1–0 | 1.000 |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | 1–0 | 1.000 |
| Houston Gamblers/Roughnecks | 3–1 | .750 |
| Memphis Showboats | 2–1 | .666 |
| Philadelphia Stars | 2–2 | .500 |
| Pittsburgh Maulers | 2–3 | .400 |
| New Jersey Generals | 1–3 | .250 |
| San Antonio Brahmas | 0–1 | .000 |
| Tampa Bay Bandits | 0–1 | .000 |
| New Orleans Breakers | 0–2 | .000 |
| Birmingham Stallions | 0–5 | .000 |
* Defunct teams in light gray.