CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jake Delhomme hasn’t played for the Carolina Panthers for 13 years, but you will still see numerous No. 17 jerseys dotting the stands in Bank of America Stadium on every fall Sunday.
One of the most popular players in team history, Delhomme left a permanent mark on the Panthers. He was Carolina’s starting quarterback from 2003 to 2009 and led the team to its first Super Bowl in his very first Panther season. In their 27-year team history, the Panthers have won nine playoff games. Delhomme was the QB for five of those nine, which is a big part of why he was inducted into the Panthers’ Hall of Honor in 2019.
A fiery leader who lives in Breaux Bridge, La., with his family and has long been involved in thoroughbred horse racing, Delhomme will again serve as the Panthers’ primary radio analyst in 2022, broadcasting 13 of Carolina’s 17 regular-season games.
Just before the Panthers’ season opener against Cleveland Sunday, Delhomme sat down with me for a revealing 90-minute interview — the fourth installment of The Charlotte Observer’s new “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” series.
Below are some highlights. A much fuller version of this conversation — where Delhomme also talks about the best locker room pranks he ever pulled, his favorite Bojangles’ commercials and how the Panthers might make the playoffs in 2022 — is available on the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.
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— Scott Fowler: Let’s start with some of your impressions about this current team. You went to practice the other day. What did you think of Baker Mayfield?
— Jake Delhomme: Baker is a thick individual. Thick. Muscular. To me, he’s almost like a Russell Wilson type of thickness. I was the honorary captain for the Seattle-Panther playoff game in 2015, and I was floored when I walked out and saw Russell. I knew he wasn’t the tallest but I was shocked at how thick he was. And that’s why he’s so durable in my opinion.
Baker has a pretty strong arm. There’s a thump when the ball comes out. He’s very accurate.
I know he’s excited about this opportunity. And it’s kind of crazy. I mean, he’s so young (27) and it feels like this is the “last chance” type of opportunity. We don’t give players time to develop anymore…. And I think we’re getting there with this football team. I can’t say I thought that the last two years, to be quite honest.
— SF: Is it true that you were somehow impressed by Ickey Ekwonu’s ankles?
— JD:I wanted us to draft an offensive lineman so bad, you know. Just getting that tackle spot solidified. So Willie Roaf, Steve Smith, Julius Peppers were the three best football players I’ve ever played with. It’s not close. And Willie Roaf (a Hall of Fame left tackle) was a large man. Huge. Barrel-chested. But the tiniest ankles you’ll ever want to see on a large man. And he could move like a deer and that’s what his greatness was: His feet.
So watching Ickey, I said, “He’s got small ankles!” And I was giddy, laughing to myself. I don’t know if that’s me being silly or whatnot, but I just never forgot watching Willie. And when I saw Ickey I was like, ‘OK. I like it.’
— SF: You own and race thoroughbreds. Have you named a horse “Steve Smith” yet?
— JD: I have a racehorse named “X Clown,” which is named after Steve Smith. (X Clown was the name of the play that resulted in the 69-yard touchdown pass that Delhomme threw to Smith to win the overtime playoff game at St. Louis in the 2003 postseason). I try to name horses after football stuff.
I named one “Two Minute” and one “Alert Alert,” which is something we used to do at the line of scrimmage.
I named one “Mangum” after (former Panther tight end) Kris Mangum. And I did name one this year — and he hasn’t run yet — “Thomas Davis.” Thomas is so excited.
But X Clown was named after Steve. He wasn’t the biggest horse in stature but he had muscles all over the place. And he’s got a lot of fiery attitude. He’s done very well for me. He’s probably won about five races and he’s made over a quarter of a million dollars.
— SF: In your first game, against Jacksonville in 2003, Carolina trailed 14-0 at halftime. You led a 24-23 comeback victory that was the start of the “Cardiac Cats” with a fourth-down pass to Ricky Proehl for the game-winner. What do you remember about that game?
— JD: Rodney Peete was beloved in the locker room. He was the starter. The mayor. Rodney was the incumbent, but Rodney was in retirement mode at that time…. We struggled in that first half, and we got booed out of the stadium at halftime. I remember saying to myself, “Yeah, they’re probably going to pull him.” And Mike (McCoy, the quarterbacks coach) came up to me and said: “You’re going in.”
We got the crowd into it. Went right down the field, were able to get a touchdown. Scored a couple more times and then, a two-minute drive. It was how you write stories sometimes.
That fourth-down play — Ricky Proehl was the fourth read on the play. And, to his credit, and that’s what made Ricky who he was, he still ran the play like he was the primary guy. I had the protection. Double-clutched it and then it was like, ‘I got him!’ I let it go and I knew he was going to catch it. So it was awesome. It was storybook. It was the start of something big — little did we know.
— SF: I re-watched the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 38 not long ago. You threw for 211 yards in the fourth quarter alone. You guys were very close to winning. So in that Super Bowl, a 32-29 loss to New England, what do you think you could have done differently to make the outcome change?
— JD: I wish we wouldn’t have chased the points. I wish we would have kicked extra points (instead of going for two separate two-point conversions, unsuccessfully). Because I think it’s a little different story… if Adam Vinatieri is losing the game, instead of it being tied if he misses, we’re going to overtime. (With the game tied at 29-all, Vinatieri hit a game-winning 41-yard field goal in the final seconds).
That defense for New England — It was just nightmarish. They were so big, so long, so good, so technical. We couldn’t run the ball.
But I’ll never forget (offensive coordinator) Dan Henning, who was so prophetic and told us we would (move the ball at will in the fourth quarter after tiring New England out). He also did not call Bill Belichick by his name all week. He called him “Little Billy.” They had coached together, and that was done for our mindset. We were playing against Little Billy.
— SF: The problem was that Tom Brady was on the other side, right?
— JD:And he’s still on the other side. That’s what blows my mind…. I’m only two years older than he is.
— SF: Speaking of age, you were 28 before you became an NFL starter. And it’s somewhat remarkable that you did, given that you couldn’t start for the Amsterdam Admirals.
— JD: Right. I was barely hanging on with the New Orleans Saints, and they sent me to NFL Europe, which was a proving ground at that time.
There were two quarterbacks in training camp. I called back home and talked to my wife, Keri, who was then my girlfriend, and said: “This other guy is pretty good. He’s accurate. He’s a nice guy.” He had been working at a grocery store stocking shelves before he got an opportunity in the Arena League.
His name was Kurt Warner.
We had a coach named Al Luginbill, and we did not know who was starting the first game until an hour and 15 minutes before the first game. We were playing in Dusseldorf, Germany, against the Rhein Fire.
If you think John Fox loved defense, Al Luginbill loved it 100 times more than John Fox. He hated offense. And so he sat us down and he said, “Hey, listen, you’re both gonna play. Kurt, you’re gonna start the game. Jake, you’re gonna play.” And he also said: “I just want both of you to know you don’t need to win the game for us. But definitely don’t lose it.”
And I remember saying to myself: I think he just insulted us.
And Kurt looked at me and said: “How about that for a vote of confidence?”
— SF: Almost every great quarterback has a charisma, a swagger. People will follow them. They did that for you. I’ve heard people say that Baker Mayfield, in a best-case scenario, turns into Jake Delhomme with the Panthers. Do you see similarities in your game and his?
— JD: I do see some similarities. I think he can get a little choppy with his feet. I used to get very choppy with my feet.
Will he roll the dice a little bit on the play? You’re damn right.
And I was the same way. I’ve played with quarterbacks who would rather look at the stat sheet and be 17 for 24 for 206 and a touchdown, and lose 17 to 10.
And I never understood that. I played with a couple of guys that played 10 years in the NFL. They were never great starters. They were talented, but they didn’t want to make a mistake.
And OK, there’s something to be said for that. But if you want to win, you’ve got to take a chance…. Will Baker do that this year? Probably so. But we’ve got some weapons around to help him, so I’m hopeful.
Listen, I had a great run here. My last year I was awful. I got cut — rightfully so. I go to Cleveland. There I stayed hurt — I was at the end.
Baker started out in Cleveland. Maybe he can come here and it can be a good run. You know, kind of be the reverse.
— SF: The opposite of your path?
— JD: Exactly. That would be awesome. And I think everybody in Charlotte would certainly embrace that.
