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.
#79. Mark Carrier
Contrary to what his name might suggest, Mark Carrier was actually a catcher. A pass catcher. A wide receiver, if you will. The Panthers acquired him as part of the 1995 expansion draft and slotted him in as the team’s top wide receiver. He finished the team’s inaugural season with 1,002 receiving yards, making him the team’s first ever 1,000 yard receiver. He followed that up by scoring the first ever touchdown in Ericsson (now Bank of America) stadium on a 12 yard pass from fellow top 100 alum Kerry Collins. His full season production took a hit with the acquisitions of Wesley Walls and Mushin Muhammad while Carrier aged into his 30s. He played out the final two years of his career after that as more of a rotational target.
Carrier retired in 1998 but decided to make a return to football when the Carolina Panthers overhauled their coaching staff in 2011. He was brought in as a director of player development and eventually had his job title changed to player engagement director. He was essentially tasked with helping rookies transition to the league and seemingly functioned sort of like a guidance counselor. He was then promoted(?), re-assigned(?) to senior advisor to the general manager under the newly rehired Mart Hurney. His job title changed again in 2019 to “executive director of football staff.” I don’t know what either of those jobs entailed, but he departed when Marty Hurney was forced to depart a second time in 2020. He now works as a player engagement director for the Bills.
Carrier earns his place in the annals of Panthers history for a few reasons. He stamped his mark on the organization with his landmark contributions to the team while it was in its infancy. Even though his tenure was brief, he is actually fourth among receivers in franchise history with 2,547 receiving yards while wearing the black and electric blue. For that, and all the years he poured into the organization as a member of the front office, Carrier earns his place as #79 on the top 100 Panthers of all time.
