COACHING
A former NFL quarterback and record-setting passer at the University of Miami (Fla.), Ken Dorsey is in his third season as the Panthers quarterbacks coach in 2015.
Working with two different starting quarterbacks in 2014, Dorsey helped Carolina's passing offense improve 10 spots from the previous year. Cam Newton battled through an assortment of injuries and became the first player in NFL history to pass for more 3,000 yards and rush for more than 500 yards in four consecutive seasons, passing for 3,127 and rushing for 539. When injuries caused Newton to miss two games at Tampa Bay (9/7/14) and versus Tampa Bay (12/14/14), Dorsey turned to backup Derek Anderson, his former teammate with the Cleveland Browns. Anderson won both starts, completing 66 percent of his passes for 507 yards and three touchdowns with no touchdowns to produce a 99.3 passer rating.
In 2013, Dorsey coached Newton to his second Pro Bowl selection and career highs in completion percentage (61.7), passing touchdowns (24) and passer rating (88.8). Under Dorsey's guidance, Newton led the Panthers to a 12-4 record, an NFC South title and the team's first playoff appearance since 2008. Newton was at his best down the stretch, directing Carolina to an 11-1 record in the final 12 regular season games while posting a 92.6 passer rating and orchestrating four game-winning drives during that time. Only two quarterbacks had more game-winning drives than Newton in the regular season.
Dorsey took over as quarterbacks coach in 2013 following two seasons as a pro scout for Carolina from 2011-12. In this role, Dorsey advanced the Panthers' upcoming opponents each week as well as evaluated free agents and prospects on other NFL rosters.
