Unexpectedly, Frank Reich, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, has resigned, becoming the second coaching casualty of the season. This choice was motivated by the team’s poor play, which was especially noticeable in their Week 12 loss to the Titans, which resulted in a depressing 1-10 season record. Less than a season into Reich’s employment, the team’s owner David Tepper decided a change was needed, which set off this dismissal. Important factors in the coach’s resignation were probably the offense’s problems in Carolina and the development of their first-round choice, Bryce Young, to a lesser extent.
This is the second year in a row that the Panthers have chosen to fire their head coach in the middle of the season. Tepper has responded by appointing Chris Tabor, the special teams coordinator, to serve as the team’s temporary head coach for the balance of the campaign. So, just who is Chris Tabor? Let’s explore the fascinating journey of the man who leads Carolina’s coaching staff at the moment.
Missouri-born, Tabor began his NFL career in 2008 when he joined the Chicago Bears as an assistant special teams coach. However, Tabor developed his coaching abilities at the collegiate level before entering the professional levels. Among his notable assignments were his tenures as Utah State’s running backs coach and special teams coach from 2002 to 2004 and as Western Michigan’s coach from 2006 to 2007. When Tabor coached Culver-Stockton, a private liberal arts college in Missouri, in 2001, it was his first head coaching position—albeit an interim one.
Following a fruitful time with the Bears as the assistant special teams coach, Tabor moved to Cleveland in 2011 to take on the post of special teams coordinator, which he held with distinction until 2017. The exceptional play of the special teams during his tenure in Cleveland was evident, as kicker Phil Dawson and returner Joshua Cribbs were selected for the 2012 Pro Bowl.
Following his coaching career, Tabor rejoined the Bears in 2018 to serve as specials coordinator. When head coach Matt Nagy tested positive for COVID-19 in a Week 8 game against the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, he was forced into the position of interim head coach. The result was Tabor’s first-ever NFL head coaching loss, 33-22 to the Niners.
After joining the Panthers in 2022, the 52-year-old coach worked under Matt Rhule as the special teams coordinator. Tabor was still in charge even after Rhule left in the middle of the season and Frank Reich was brought in. He now assumes the position of acting head coach for the Panthers as they manage the obstacles of the 2023 campaign following the recent coaching change.
Instead of beginning his coaching career in the flash and glitter of the NFL, Tabor served as an assistant coach at Benton High School in St. Joseph, Missouri, where he graduated in 1993. His career as a coach was further enhanced when he moved to a junior college, where he spent a year teaching the running backs at Hutchinson CC before becoming the offensive coordinator at Central Methodist, an NAIA institution.
Tabor’s breakthrough came when he joined the Missouri coaching staff, which ultimately opened the door for him to get his first head coaching position at Culver-Stockton in 2001. Tabor guided the team to an impressive 6-5 record in his one and only season in charge, its first winning campaign in fifteen years. After the 2001 campaign, he returned to coaching at the university level, serving as an assistant at Utah State before finishing his career with Western Michigan.
After a brief break, Tabor returned for a second stint with the Chicago Bears in 2008, seizing his first NFL opportunity. He worked as the special teams coordinator in Cleveland for seven seasons in between his two stints in Chicago.
Tabor joined the Panthers in 2022 and has had a noticeable effect on the special teams section of the team. Even with the kicking squad’s injuries, he managed to turn things around by bringing in Eddy Pineiro, with whom he had previously worked in Chicago. Pineiro became one of the NFL’s most dependable field goal scorers, making 51 of 56 attempts successfully, including an exceptional 6 of 8 from 50 yards or beyond. The Panthers’ special teams unit, according to Rick Gosselin, finished the 2022 season ranked fourth in the league.
Chris Tabor’s rise from a high school assistant coach in Missouri to a significant player in the NFL coaching landscape is a monument to his perseverance and determination. He is now serving as the interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers. The obstacles he has surmounted and his ability to develop elite special teams groups make him a fascinating player to follow as the Panthers manage the rest of the 2023 campaign under his direction.