Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#67. Jim Skipper
The Carolina Panthers have existed for over 30 years, and there have been a few features of the team that have spanned almost the entirety of his existence. Those include a storied history of linebackers, vanilla offenses, stout defenses, and some of the best running backs in the NFL. Since 2002, the Panthers have sent Stephen Davis, DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert, and Christian McCaffrey to the Pro Bowl. The common thread between all of them—running backs coach Jim Skipper.
Skipper originally joined the Panthers in 2002 as part of new head coach John Fox’s coaching staff. Prior to that, he was a long time running backs coach for a few different teams and had a brief stint as head coach of the San Francisco Demons during the only XFL season played in 2001. In his second season with the Panthers, the team acquired former Pro Bowler Stephen Davis. Under Skipper, Davis posted the highest rushing yards per game mark of his career and returned to his Pro Bowl form. While injuries derailed the rest of his Panthers career, his understudy, DeShaun Foster, was able to fill in admirably. Skipper helped the Panthers hold it together in 2004 when just about the entire running backs room got hurt, leading to Nick Goings putting up five 100 yard rushing games towards the end of that season. He was eventually given DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and helped that duo become arguably the best one-two punch at running back in their era. They remain the only pair of teammates to rush for 1,100 yards in the same season.
Skipper was shown the door along with the rest of the Panthers coaching staff in 2010, but he wouldn’t be gone for long. After three seasons with the Titans, Ron Rivera brought him home. He was part of the coaching staff that led the team to the Super Bowl in 2015. He helped develop Christian McCaffrey into one of the game’s best all around backs, helping him to a second team All Pro nod in his second season in 2018. Following that season, Skipper decided to hang up the whistle and headset and ride off into retirement.
The running back position is probably the most prominent offensive position in the history of the Panthers, and Jim Skipper is a big part of that. He’s been one of the more widely known assistant coaches on the staff because of the success his position group as almost always had, despite the ups and downs of the team as a whole. For that, Jim Skipper comes in at number 67 on the list of top 100 Panthers of all time.
