September 20, 2024 • 10 mins
Celebrate 30 seasons of Carolina Panthers football with Jim Szoke. Join him as he sits down with the key figures who shaped the past 29 seasons, reminiscing on the moments that made Panther history. This week's guest is former Panthers defensive back, Roman Harper.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Nowadays, you mainly see Roman Harper, the former Panthers defensive back,
on television with ESPN and the SEC Network. He spent
two of his NFL seasons with the Panthers, including a
part of that Super Bowl fifty team. He played for
the New Orleans Saints and their Super Bowl championship team
and spent eight years in New Orleans after playing his
college career at Alabama. You talk with the former Panthers
defensive back this week, Roman Harper.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Thirty seasons of Panther football, a celebration of the players, coaches,
and other key figures who've contributed to the organizational success.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
All Right, Roman Harper joining us part of the Super
Bowl fifty team. Played two seasons with the Panthers, twenty
fourteen and twenty fifteen. And when you look at that
twenty fifteen season, I mean, that team's seventeen and one
heading into the last game before we talk about the
Super Bowl game itself. You know what brought that team together?
What was special out of all those years he played
with the Saints, obviously two years here with the Panthers,
(00:58):
what stood out about that team out that chemistry all
came together.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Honestly, the biggest thing was I thought the togetherness, and
then I thought coach Ron Rivera did a great job
of understanding who he were, so it was like everybody
was just together. I just did a little thing. Trey
Boston said it correctly because Mario let it off by
saying trust. That team trusted each other from And I
always think if your team's worth any kind of a shit,
(01:24):
you got to have trust on all three levels, from
coach to coach, player to player, and coach the player.
So everybody in the buildings pulling all in the same direction,
with the same goal, the same aspirations. And you got
to have the right mix of old to young players,
young guys that are starting to come into there, maybe
getting out of their first deal playing for something. They're
not rookies, some rookies still playing and participating. But then
(01:48):
you're also a mix of veteran guys that've been around
the block that's won some games and some big moments.
And so I saw it start to come together. For me,
I had zero expectations. Well, I didn't know how we're
going to be. I really did, because we weren't good
fourteen and I was been around some reading teams in
New Orleans fourteen was ugly, but we made the playoffshen
(02:08):
we won a game, but it's still ugly. And then
to lose Kelvin Benjamin in preseason to then all of
a sudden we win some games, win some games. But
Seattle for me was a turning point. And I told
Coach Wilks after the game, I said, Coach, I've been
on the Super Bowl before. I said, they're starting to
believe that for me, going on road the way we wanted,
(02:32):
offense wanted went up and scored, the defense shut it
down like it was both of us. It wasn't just
the defense having to win us a game. It's like,
no offensively doom, then defensively shut the door on him.
And I told Coach was like starting to believe. I
saw it in the young guys on the team. I
saw it like it was a different look in our
eye after that, And so for me, that's when I
(02:53):
knew we'd be pretty good.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
And especially back then, I mean, everyone knows the twelfth Man,
but that was a tough place for anybody to go
win a big game there.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
So for me being on so many winning teams in
New Orleans for those eight years, we beat him maybe
my second year in the league, but that was early,
and they weren't they weren't that good. Maybe I can't
even remember. It was that long ago, but for me
a meaningful game. That was the first time I won
one in Seattle. I'd lost last three or so, including
when beast Quake was there, you know what I'm saying.
(03:21):
So I had lived through Seattle a lot of bad wounds.
And then everybody tried to make it another big deal
in the newspaper when we played him in the playoffs,
and I said, well, we're the better team. Why is
everybody asking us like we're the better than like we're
the better team? And Coach Vera, I remember he came
into the meaning room and he said, Roman, I saw
what you said. I believe you. We are the better
(03:44):
team and we need and so he just confirmed like
and that was that. I love Coach Ron riveras the
way he he really believed in me and talked to me.
We had a good little great bond, special relationship for
being a New Orleans saying for all those years and
then accepting me. And the biggest compliment he ever told
(04:05):
me was that New Orleans should have never let me go,
but I'm happy that you're here. And he told me
that in fourteen, he said, you should have been a
player that finishes your career with one team. Do that good,
But I'm glad you're here with us. So that was
a very big compliment.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Well, you're in their Hall of Fame and obviously those
are some great years down there too. To finish up
on that twenty fifteen season, obviously, Yeah, when you look
back at it, you guys really shut down Peyton Manning.
They didn't really have any offense or some takeaways that
their defense got. But defensively I got. You don't separate
it into offense and defense. You win and loses a team.
But in that game, man, it just did they think
(04:40):
feel like I don't know mood wise or anything different
about that moment.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Uh. For me personally, I thought we played our worst
game on the biggest stage. And it's what football is
now that I'm done with it, and it doesn't control
my emotions because a long time I couldn't talk about
this game. It was so mad. I wanted my career
to end. I wanted to go, oh finished out in
Carolina Panthers, and I wanted to retire after ten years
as my goal walk away Super two, Super Bowl champ,
(05:07):
and we played our worst game, and I regret some
things personally, like maybe I shouldn't have played, you know whatever,
Like I always look back, but what can you change.
But it wasn't supposed it wasn't meant to be. But
we played our worst game on the biggest moment. Then,
just that's what football is. It's not about the best teams.
The team that plays the best that day, they out
played us. We didn't have the answers. I thought, coaches
(05:27):
didn't do a good job of adjusting. I thought, you know, defensively.
It's just so ironic for me because I beat Peyton
Manning and Super Bowl forty four with the Saints and
he was on fire. He was the MVP. He could
throw the ball wherever you want it, whenever you wanted it.
Then I played him six years later and he was
a shell of himself and they beat me, not me,
(05:49):
but like the team I was on it. But like
that's football, right, And we were the underdog in that
game and they were the underdog in this game. But
like that's life, that's football. It's part of my story.
I love being a part of that team as a
special team, but have been the best team I've ever
been on. But that's not my story. That's not the
end of my story, and so it's just another chapter
(06:10):
in my life and it's beautiful. I love it to death.
I cherish it. Getting to see the guys today it's
been amazing. And getting an interview with myself, it's been
really cool because you know, we get to ask questions
as well, so and that's part of being in our
space now, but in this media space. But it's really
cool to kind of cherish it and be back and
ask guys how they felt. Sometimes you get your own flowers.
It's good to get flowers while you're alive. So it's
(06:31):
always anytime you can do these things, it's kind of
cool at times.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I'll talk about your broadcast up in just a moment here,
but to New Orleans eight years there, you mentioned you
won a Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yo, what did that mean?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Obviously you wouldn't be defined as a human whether you
won or lost a Super Bowl, but having won one, yeah,
we haven't had one here where it finished out with
a win.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
What's that like? Number one? It goes behind the dash,
you know for the rest of your life, like they
can't take it from you. I don't care what happens.
I can go jail, I can do whatever. I'm still
Roman Harper's super Bowl Champion, super Bowl forty four x
L I V like that can they can never take
that from you. That part is something special. And when
(07:08):
I say you'll walk together forever, you do, like that's
a different like those brothers. That team is something different
about it, right. And I remember after we lost to
Atlanta here with the with the Panthers and we were
fourteen z ohld. We lose, coach, everybody's just getting tight. People
just not it was the moment. They weren't. We weren't
(07:29):
ready for it, and so at least at that point.
But I told him, I said, I've read this story before.
I know the ending of the book. I'm just here
to like I'm just here for the ride again because
I've seen it. It was that team and we just
didn't play well that day. Like still, if we play
Denver ten times, we probably beat him seven or eight.
Von Miller said that personally, he knows that. But that's
(07:51):
just that's football and it's just part of my journey
and it's but man, that Super Bowl team in New
Orleans like it's it's And I'll also say this, I've
been in a lot of football rooms, a lot of meetings,
and for the first time, your coach getting up there
in front of you and saying like he don't have
no corrections, he don't have no this, this and this
(08:14):
will see you next year. We gotta do this and
this and get better. He's like, now we did it.
We fucking did it. Like there's no better feeling than that.
And having that moment is it's really undescribable. And getting
that moment with my friends who I grew up with,
my family, and like I said, it's really just about
the dash after your name. It can never take that
from you. And they don't talk about NFC champions. They
(08:38):
talk about I mean, they do it to accolade. Of
course it is. But I wanted that ring for my
teammates because I wanted them to have that feeling and
I wanted that brotherhood with them. And some of my
New Orleans friends just buddies, are like, I'm glad you didn't, right,
that's them. But I wanted that so bad because I
wanted to retire because at that point in my career.
I wanted to be the end. I never would have
(08:59):
thought plan was to take me back to New Orleans
to kind of let bygones be bygones and go back there,
you know. And Luke even told him, he's like, dude,
you guys need to reside Roam. He's gonna leave, and
they didn't. And that's this is my life. All right.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Let's wrap up with the broadcast part of your chapter
now with SEC Network ESPN and that platform is huge obviously.
How much you enjoying that role?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Oh, it's cool. The coolest thing for me is I
do you know my show SEC Nation and then and
now have my own show on Monday nights, Read and
React with Cole Kubrick. We talked abaull. It's like a
I mean, it's a PhD. In football. We break down film,
we tell you the why, not just who lost or
who's gonna win, but why and then But SEC Nation
is really fun on the weekend with the whole staff,
(09:41):
the whole crew, even behind the scenes, but getting to
go to different campuses. When you play football, you don't
actually get to go to campuses and like actually see
what a campus lifestyle is like and see these different places,
the different traditions, the different people, the sids, everybody that
works behind the scenes. It has been really cool to
get to see that side of college football, and because
that's just totally different then my experience of what football was.
(10:02):
I'm sorry I didn't get to do life until thirty six,
thirty five years old because I was busy playing it.
But it's been really really special for me and I
really enjoy covering the SEC and college football. It's the
best conference in the world. College football though it is,
and it just means more.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
As they'd like to say, we enjoy watching you do
a great job with that rum and great to catch
up with you.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Appreciated man, Thanks so much for having them.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Thirty seasons of Panther Football.
Nowadays, you mainly see Roman Harper, the former Panthers defensive back,
on television with ESPN and the SEC Network. He spent
two of his NFL seasons with the Panthers, including a
part of that Super Bowl fifty team. He played for
the New Orleans Saints and their Super Bowl championship team
and spent eight years in New Orleans after playing his
college career at Alabama. You talk with the former Panthers
defensive back this week, Roman Harper.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Thirty seasons of Panther football, a celebration of the players, coaches,
and other key figures who've contributed to the organizational success.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
All Right, Roman Harper joining us part of the Super
Bowl fifty team. Played two seasons with the Panthers, twenty
fourteen and twenty fifteen. And when you look at that
twenty fifteen season, I mean, that team's seventeen and one
heading into the last game before we talk about the
Super Bowl game itself. You know what brought that team together?
What was special out of all those years he played
with the Saints, obviously two years here with the Panthers,
(00:58):
what stood out about that team out that chemistry all
came together.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Honestly, the biggest thing was I thought the togetherness, and
then I thought coach Ron Rivera did a great job
of understanding who he were, so it was like everybody
was just together. I just did a little thing. Trey
Boston said it correctly because Mario let it off by
saying trust. That team trusted each other from And I
always think if your team's worth any kind of a shit,
(01:24):
you got to have trust on all three levels, from
coach to coach, player to player, and coach the player.
So everybody in the buildings pulling all in the same direction,
with the same goal, the same aspirations. And you got
to have the right mix of old to young players,
young guys that are starting to come into there, maybe
getting out of their first deal playing for something. They're
not rookies, some rookies still playing and participating. But then
(01:48):
you're also a mix of veteran guys that've been around
the block that's won some games and some big moments.
And so I saw it start to come together. For me,
I had zero expectations. Well, I didn't know how we're
going to be. I really did, because we weren't good
fourteen and I was been around some reading teams in
New Orleans fourteen was ugly, but we made the playoffshen
(02:08):
we won a game, but it's still ugly. And then
to lose Kelvin Benjamin in preseason to then all of
a sudden we win some games, win some games. But
Seattle for me was a turning point. And I told
Coach Wilks after the game, I said, Coach, I've been
on the Super Bowl before. I said, they're starting to
believe that for me, going on road the way we wanted,
(02:32):
offense wanted went up and scored, the defense shut it
down like it was both of us. It wasn't just
the defense having to win us a game. It's like,
no offensively doom, then defensively shut the door on him.
And I told Coach was like starting to believe. I
saw it in the young guys on the team. I
saw it like it was a different look in our
eye after that, And so for me, that's when I
(02:53):
knew we'd be pretty good.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
And especially back then, I mean, everyone knows the twelfth Man,
but that was a tough place for anybody to go
win a big game there.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
So for me being on so many winning teams in
New Orleans for those eight years, we beat him maybe
my second year in the league, but that was early,
and they weren't they weren't that good. Maybe I can't
even remember. It was that long ago, but for me
a meaningful game. That was the first time I won
one in Seattle. I'd lost last three or so, including
when beast Quake was there, you know what I'm saying.
(03:21):
So I had lived through Seattle a lot of bad wounds.
And then everybody tried to make it another big deal
in the newspaper when we played him in the playoffs,
and I said, well, we're the better team. Why is
everybody asking us like we're the better than like we're
the better team? And Coach Vera, I remember he came
into the meaning room and he said, Roman, I saw
what you said. I believe you. We are the better
(03:44):
team and we need and so he just confirmed like
and that was that. I love Coach Ron riveras the
way he he really believed in me and talked to me.
We had a good little great bond, special relationship for
being a New Orleans saying for all those years and
then accepting me. And the biggest compliment he ever told
(04:05):
me was that New Orleans should have never let me go,
but I'm happy that you're here. And he told me
that in fourteen, he said, you should have been a
player that finishes your career with one team. Do that good,
But I'm glad you're here with us. So that was
a very big compliment.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Well, you're in their Hall of Fame and obviously those
are some great years down there too. To finish up
on that twenty fifteen season, obviously, Yeah, when you look
back at it, you guys really shut down Peyton Manning.
They didn't really have any offense or some takeaways that
their defense got. But defensively I got. You don't separate
it into offense and defense. You win and loses a team.
But in that game, man, it just did they think
(04:40):
feel like I don't know mood wise or anything different
about that moment.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Uh. For me personally, I thought we played our worst
game on the biggest stage. And it's what football is
now that I'm done with it, and it doesn't control
my emotions because a long time I couldn't talk about
this game. It was so mad. I wanted my career
to end. I wanted to go, oh finished out in
Carolina Panthers, and I wanted to retire after ten years
as my goal walk away Super two, Super Bowl champ,
(05:07):
and we played our worst game, and I regret some
things personally, like maybe I shouldn't have played, you know whatever,
Like I always look back, but what can you change.
But it wasn't supposed it wasn't meant to be. But
we played our worst game on the biggest moment. Then,
just that's what football is. It's not about the best teams.
The team that plays the best that day, they out
played us. We didn't have the answers. I thought, coaches
(05:27):
didn't do a good job of adjusting. I thought, you know, defensively.
It's just so ironic for me because I beat Peyton
Manning and Super Bowl forty four with the Saints and
he was on fire. He was the MVP. He could
throw the ball wherever you want it, whenever you wanted it.
Then I played him six years later and he was
a shell of himself and they beat me, not me,
(05:49):
but like the team I was on it. But like
that's football, right, And we were the underdog in that
game and they were the underdog in this game. But
like that's life, that's football. It's part of my story.
I love being a part of that team as a
special team, but have been the best team I've ever
been on. But that's not my story. That's not the
end of my story, and so it's just another chapter
(06:10):
in my life and it's beautiful. I love it to death.
I cherish it. Getting to see the guys today it's
been amazing. And getting an interview with myself, it's been
really cool because you know, we get to ask questions
as well, so and that's part of being in our
space now, but in this media space. But it's really
cool to kind of cherish it and be back and
ask guys how they felt. Sometimes you get your own flowers.
It's good to get flowers while you're alive. So it's
(06:31):
always anytime you can do these things, it's kind of
cool at times.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I'll talk about your broadcast up in just a moment here,
but to New Orleans eight years there, you mentioned you
won a Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yo, what did that mean?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Obviously you wouldn't be defined as a human whether you
won or lost a Super Bowl, but having won one, yeah,
we haven't had one here where it finished out with
a win.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
What's that like? Number one? It goes behind the dash,
you know for the rest of your life, like they
can't take it from you. I don't care what happens.
I can go jail, I can do whatever. I'm still
Roman Harper's super Bowl Champion, super Bowl forty four x
L I V like that can they can never take
that from you. That part is something special. And when
(07:08):
I say you'll walk together forever, you do, like that's
a different like those brothers. That team is something different
about it, right. And I remember after we lost to
Atlanta here with the with the Panthers and we were
fourteen z ohld. We lose, coach, everybody's just getting tight. People
just not it was the moment. They weren't. We weren't
(07:29):
ready for it, and so at least at that point.
But I told him, I said, I've read this story before.
I know the ending of the book. I'm just here
to like I'm just here for the ride again because
I've seen it. It was that team and we just
didn't play well that day. Like still, if we play
Denver ten times, we probably beat him seven or eight.
Von Miller said that personally, he knows that. But that's
(07:51):
just that's football and it's just part of my journey
and it's but man, that Super Bowl team in New
Orleans like it's it's And I'll also say this, I've
been in a lot of football rooms, a lot of meetings,
and for the first time, your coach getting up there
in front of you and saying like he don't have
no corrections, he don't have no this, this and this
(08:14):
will see you next year. We gotta do this and
this and get better. He's like, now we did it.
We fucking did it. Like there's no better feeling than that.
And having that moment is it's really undescribable. And getting
that moment with my friends who I grew up with,
my family, and like I said, it's really just about
the dash after your name. It can never take that
from you. And they don't talk about NFC champions. They
(08:38):
talk about I mean, they do it to accolade. Of
course it is. But I wanted that ring for my
teammates because I wanted them to have that feeling and
I wanted that brotherhood with them. And some of my
New Orleans friends just buddies, are like, I'm glad you didn't, right,
that's them. But I wanted that so bad because I
wanted to retire because at that point in my career.
I wanted to be the end. I never would have
(08:59):
thought plan was to take me back to New Orleans
to kind of let bygones be bygones and go back there,
you know. And Luke even told him, he's like, dude,
you guys need to reside Roam. He's gonna leave, and
they didn't. And that's this is my life. All right.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Let's wrap up with the broadcast part of your chapter
now with SEC Network ESPN and that platform is huge obviously.
How much you enjoying that role?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Oh, it's cool. The coolest thing for me is I
do you know my show SEC Nation and then and
now have my own show on Monday nights, Read and
React with Cole Kubrick. We talked abaull. It's like a
I mean, it's a PhD. In football. We break down film,
we tell you the why, not just who lost or
who's gonna win, but why and then But SEC Nation
is really fun on the weekend with the whole staff,
(09:41):
the whole crew, even behind the scenes, but getting to
go to different campuses. When you play football, you don't
actually get to go to campuses and like actually see
what a campus lifestyle is like and see these different places,
the different traditions, the different people, the sids, everybody that
works behind the scenes. It has been really cool to
get to see that side of college football, and because
that's just totally different then my experience of what football was.
(10:02):
I'm sorry I didn't get to do life until thirty six,
thirty five years old because I was busy playing it.
But it's been really really special for me and I
really enjoy covering the SEC and college football. It's the
best conference in the world. College football though it is,
and it just means more.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
As they'd like to say, we enjoy watching you do
a great job with that rum and great to catch
up with you.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Appreciated man, Thanks so much for having them.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Thirty seasons of Panther Football.
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