Where are they now? The 2015 Panthers and what they’re doing 10 years later
READ MORE
Super Men: The inside story of the 2015 Carolina Panthers
Expand All
The 2015 Carolina Panthers were the most successful team in franchise history in many ways. But as with all NFL teams, the roster began to churn immediately after the season ended.
Ten years later, only one player from those 2015 Panthers is still playing for the team — long snapper J.J. Jansen. The following is far from a comprehensive list, but a snapshot of what happened to about three dozen of the people closely connected to that team, categorized and listed in alphabetical order.
WHERE ARE THE PLAYERS NOW?
Offense
KELVIN BENJAMIN: After missing the entire 2015 season with a torn ACL, Benjamin played again for Carolina until midway through the 2017 season, when the Panthers traded him to Buffalo. After 2018, he never played in the NFL again.
JERRICHO COTCHERY: The former Panthers and N.C. State receiver was the head football coach at Limestone University in Gaffney, S.C., before the school unexpectedly closed in early 2025. Cotchery and his wife have five children and live in Charlotte. (He wants you to know that he caught that ball.)
ED DICKSON: The former Panthers tight end lives in Seattle with his wife. They are the new owners of a Mercedes Sprinter van, which they’re using to ferry around their six children — including another son, born Feb. 8.
RYAN KALIL: Even while becoming a five-time Pro Bowler as a Panther, Kalil was making short films. He is the co-founder of Mortal Media, alongside retired NBA star Blake Griffin.
Kalil is involved in producing a number of film and television projects and lives in Manhattan Beach, Calif., with his family.
CAM NEWTON: The NFL Most Valuable Player in 2015, Newton played for the Panthers until 2019, and then made a brief return in 2021. He also briefly played QB for the New England Patriots. Newton now hosts his own televised podcast, called “4th & 1,” and co-owns a cigar bar in the Atlanta area. He reportedly sold his uptown condo in Charlotte to Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball in 2024. (Through various intermediaries, Newton did not reply to repeated invitations to participate in this project.)
MICHAEL OHER: After protecting Cam Newton’s blind side in every game in 2015, Oher sustained a major concussion and only played in three more NFL games. His life story was famously the basis for the book and 2009 movie “The Blind Side,” which centered on his relationship with the Tuohy family; Oher has since sued that family, saying they unfairly profited from those works.
GREG OLSEN: After his NFL career ended, Olsen became a TV broadcaster. He has already called a Super Bowl and now is the game analyst on the No. 2 NFL announcing team at Fox Sports. He and his wife, Kara, have three children and live in Charlotte, where Olsen often coaches youth sports.
MIKE REMMERS: Following his Panthers career, Remmers played in another Super Bowl, with Kansas City. He lives with his wife and family in Oregon.
JONATHAN STEWART: The former Panthers running back, who remains in Charlotte with his wife Natalie and their two daughters, owns a golf-focused digital marketing company called Tee Time Stew and is trying to improve his personal game. As of mid-spring, he was a 12-handicap — and hoping to break 80 finally this summer.
MIKE TOLBERT: The former Panthers fullback owns and operates a RockBox Fitness franchise in South Charlotte’s Waverly community with his wife, Shia. The Tolberts (parents of three children) both teach classes at the studio.
Defense
JARED ALLEN: After playing his one and only season with the Panthers in 2015, Allen retired. His earlier career exploits with Kansas City and Minnesota paved the way for him to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
KURT COLEMAN: The former Panthers safety works at Charlotte Latin as the private school’s stewardship and scholarship administrator. He says this project about the 2015 Panthers should have been called “The Greatest That Almost Was.”
THOMAS DAVIS: The former Panthers linebacker owns Ten58 Sports Bar & Lounge in uptown Charlotte, just two blocks from Bank of America Stadium. (Ten was his jersey number at the University of Georgia; 58 was his number for Carolina.)
Davis lives in Charlotte with his wife, Kelly, with whom he shares four children.
ROMAN HARPER: Harper has worked as a college football analyst for the SEC Network since 2020 and lives in Charlotte. The former Panthers safety won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints and was inducted into the Saints’ hall of fame in 2021.
CHARLES JOHNSON: The former defensive end for the Panthers lives in Charlotte, and is slated to be the defensive coordinator at Chambers High this year under new head coach Captain Munnerlyn, his former Carolina teammate.
LUKE KUECHLY: The Panthers’ legendary linebacker, who retired in 2020, fell just short of Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in his first try in 2025 but is expected to make it before long. Kuechly lives in Charlotte and is part of the Panthers’ radio broadcasting team.
JOSH NORMAN: The Panthers’ irrepressible cornerback had a career year in 2015, then left for huge money in Washington after some Carolina contract complications. He lives in Atlanta, where he is an entrepreneur and helps run his Omni Coffee & Eggs restaurant.
KAWANN SHORT: A two-time Pro Bowler with the Panthers, the player everyone calls “KK” still lives in Charlotte. He played all 99 of his career NFL games for the Panthers, the last in 2020.
SHAQ THOMPSON: A rookie linebacker in 2015, Thompson is still playing in the NFL. He recently signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills, who employ his former defensive coordinator Sean McDermott as the head coach and former longtime Panthers front-office man Brandon Beane as the general manager.
LOU YOUNG: Although the former defensive back didn’t play in any actual games in 2015, he did often entertain teammates with his spot-on impersonations. Young has since become a comedian with his own YouTube show.
Special teams
GRAHAM GANO: Gano has had one of the longest careers of any player on the 2015 team, playing in 202 NFL games. He remains an active NFL kicker with the New York Giants. He and his family live in the offseason in Charlotte, and he dabbles in coaching youth soccer.
J.J. JANSEN: Jansen, 39, is the last remaining player from the 2015 Panthers still on the team’s active roster. He holds the all-time Panthers record with 260 games played and counting. He and his wife, Laura, have four children.
COLIN JONES: Still living in Charlotte, Jones was a longtime special teams captain for the Panthers. He now works as the CFO of an outdoor entertainment and adventure company called Field Ethos.
BRAD NORTMAN: A former Wisconsin Badger, Nortman has returned to his home state and now co-hosts a radio show there. He was an NFL punter for six years (four with Carolina).
WHERE ARE THE COACHES NOW?
BRUCE DeHAVEN: After spending the final four of his 30 seasons as a special teams coach with the Panthers, DeHaven died in 2016 at age 68, following a battle with cancer. He was special teams coordinator with the Panthers in 2015, fighting prostate cancer all year.
“He was an old-school coach who coached you very hard, and I loved him,” Colin Jones said.
SEAN McDERMOTT: Now one of the most successful head coaches in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, a team that has made the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons. McDermott was the Panthers’ defensive coordinator in 2015.
RICKY PROEHL: The former wide receiver holds a rare distinction of both playing in a Super Bowl for the Panthers in 2003 and then coaching in one for Carolina (as a wide receivers coach) in 2015. He owns Proehlific Park, a family sports complex and fitness center in Greensboro.
.jpg "RON_RIVERA_01 (1).jpg")
RON RIVERA: Rivera was the Panthers’ head coach in 2015 and remains the winningest coach in team history. After being fired by Panthers owner David Tepper in 2019, Rivera went on to become head coach of the Washington Commanders. He recently became the football general manager for his collegiate alma mater, the California Golden Bears.
MIKE SHULA: The offensive coordinator for the Panthers in 2015, Shula now serves in the same role in college football, as the new offensive coordinator for the University of South Carolina.
STEVE WILKS: The Charlotte native was the Panthers’ secondary coach in 2015 and later became the team’s interim head coach for 12 games in 2022, going 6-6 after Matt Rhule was fired. Wilks was hired in February as the new defensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
WHERE ARE THE OTHERS NOW?
BRAYLON BEAM: As a six-year-old fan who was fighting cancer, Braylon inspired many Panthers players and fans in 2015 with his dancing. Now a 16-year-old high school sophomore in Denver, N.C., he had a recurrence of his disease a couple of years ago — but is currently in remission.
BRANDON BEANE: Under Dave Gettleman, Beane was the Panthers’ assistant general manager in 2015. He now is the GM for the Buffalo Bills, where the head coach is former Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.
STEVEN DRUMMOND: The Panthers’ director of communications in 2015, Drummond now works for the University of Georgia as the SEC powerhouse’s deputy athletic director and chief marketing officer.
Among other things, he’s responsible for partnerships with brands, donors and NIL platforms.
DAVE GETTLEMAN: As the Panthers’ general manager from 2013 to just before the 2017 season began, Gettleman devised the rosters that pushed Carolina to four playoff berths in five years. He later was GM of the New York Giants. Now 74, he is retired.
PAT McCRORY: The former Charlotte mayor served as North Carolina’s governor from 2013-17 and was one of the Panthers’ most high-profile fans for years. He no longer holds political office but still lives in the Queen City and is now hosting a Friday night show on the local PBS member station.
DANNY MORRISON: The Panthers’ president in 2015, Morrison went on to become the CEO of the Charlotte Sports Foundation.
.JPG "CLT_DANNY_MORRISON_02 (1).JPG")
Morrison recently retired from that role but remains an executive advisor to the CSF and is also a professor at the University of South Carolina.
JERRY RICHARDSON: The team’s owner and founder, as well as a former NFL player himself, Richardson sold the team in 2018 to current owner David Tepper. He died in 2023 at age 86.
COURTNEY RIVERA: The daughter of coach Ron Rivera and the Panthers’ former social media coordinator, Rivera is a freelance videographer and editor in Charlotte.
MORE PHOTOS
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 5:05 AM.
