Chris Tabor(born March 4, 1971) is anAmerican footballcoach who last served asinterim head coachandspecial teams coordinatorfor theCarolina Panthersof theNational Football League(NFL). He has also served as an assistant coach for theCleveland Browns(from 2011 to 2017) and theChicago Bears(from 2018 to 2021), and has more than 20 years of coaching experience between the high school, collegiate and professional levels.[1]
 Tabor with theCleveland Brownsin 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | March 4, 1971 St. Joseph, Missouri,U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Benton (St. Joseph, Missouri) |
| College: | Benedictine |
| Undrafted: | 1993 |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 1–6 (.143) |
| RecordatPro Football Reference | |
Early life and education
editTabor earned a degree in physical education in 1993 atBenedictine CollegeinAtchison, Kansas,where he was a three-year starter atquarterbackfor theBenedictine Ravens.He was an all-conference selection and team MVP in 1992, when the Ravens won theHeart of America Athletic Conference(HAAC) championship, and advanced to theNAIA Division II national semifinals.In 2017 Tabor was elected into the Benedictine College Hall of Fame.[2]He earned his master's degree in education in 1999 fromColumbia (Mo.) College.
Coaching career
editEarly career
editTabor started his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant at his alma mater,Benton High School,inSt. Joseph, Missouri.The following year, he coached running backs atHutchinson Community College,inHutchinson, Kansas,before serving as theoffensive coordinatoratCentral Methodist Universityfrom 1995 to 1996.
Missouri
editIn 1997, Tabor was hired by theUniversity of Missourias agraduate assistant.He would serve in that role for three years before being promoted to their running backs and special teams coach in 2000. While Tabor was there, the Tigers ranked in the nation's top 10 for rushing offense and they played in two bowl games.
Culver–Stockton College
editIn 2001, Tabor was hired as the head football coach atCulver–Stockton CollegeinCanton, Missouri.He led the program to a 6–5 record, the school's first winning season in 15 years.[3]In Tabor's only season there, his team set school records for points scored, touchdowns and total yards, and ranked 17th in theNAIAin total defense and 10th in pass defense.
Utah State
editIn 2002, Tabor joinedUtah State Universityas their assistant head coach and wide receivers coach. In 2005, he served as their running backs and special teams coach.
Western Michigan University
editTabor spent two seasons (2006 and 2007) atWestern Michigan Universityas the running backs and special teams coach.
Chicago Bears (first stint)
editTabor left college-level football and got his first shot in theNational Football League(NFL) when he spent three seasons (2008–2010) as assistant special teams coach with theChicago Bears.He worked under coordinatorDave Toubon head coachLovie Smith's staff. During Tabor's tenure with the Bears, Chicago consistently ranked among the league leaders in numerous departments. The Bears ranked in the top five in no less than nine different special teams categories combined over that three-year period. Chicago led the NFL in total return yards (6,570) and kickoff return yards (5,415), posted the second-best kickoff return average (25.1), ranked third in punt return defense (7.1) and produced the fifth-best punt return average (10.4). The Bears also registered six total kick returns for touchdowns in that time, which tied for second-most in the league.[4]
Cleveland Browns
editIn 2011, Tabor was hired by theCleveland Brownsas their special teams coordinator. During Tabor's tenure in Cleveland, the Browns were the only NFL team to have earned at least one AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award each season from 2011 to 2016. In total, the Browns won seven AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards. He also oversaw kickerPhil Dawson[5]and returnerJoshua Cribbs[6]in2012when both were selected to thePro Bowl,marking just the second time in team history that two specialists made the annualall-star gamein the same season. Also during his tenure with the Browns, they led the NFL in punt return average (11.3 yards), were first in kickoff return average against (19.8) and were tied for sixth in punt return touchdowns (4).
Chicago Bears (second stint)
editOn January 12, 2018, Tabor returned to theChicago Bearsas their special teams coordinator under head coachMatt Nagy.[7]
On October 25, 2021, Nagy tested positive forCOVID-19,resulting in Tabor taking over as the interim head coach. On October 31, Tabor made his NFL head coaching debut in the Bears' Week 8 game against theSan Francisco 49ers,with the Bears suffering a 33-22 loss.
Carolina Panthers
editOn January 27, 2022, Tabor was hired by theCarolina Panthersas their special teams coordinator under head coachMatt Rhule.[8]On November 27, 2023, Tabor was named interim head coach after head coachFrank Reichwas fired.[9]Tabor completed the season, leading the Panthers to a 1-5 record. On January 26, 2024, he was let go by the Panthers.[10]
Personal life
editTabor grew up in a football family; his father, Don, coached high school football inMissourifor 40 years and all of his brothers (Donnie, Matt and Michael) played football at Benedictine College.[11]
Tabor and his wife, Nikki (neeGraves), have two daughters, Paityn and Lainey.
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culver–Stockton Wildcats(Heart of America Athletic Conference)(2001) | |||||||||
| 2001 | Culver–Stockton | 6–5 | 5–5 | T–4th | |||||
| Culver–Stockton: | 6–5 | 5–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 6–5 | ||||||||
NFL
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CHI* | 2021 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | |
| CHI total | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | |||
| CAR* | 2023 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | 4th in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| CAR total | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | — | — | — | |||
| Total | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
*Interim head coach
References
edit- ^"Chris Tabor biography".ClevelandBrowns.Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2018.
- ^"2017 Benedictine College Homecoming Features Hall of Fame Inductions".August 31, 2018.
- ^"Guenther resigns as Culver-Stockton College football coach".Herald-Whig.April 8, 2024.RetrievedOctober 2,2024.
- ^Cabot, Mary Kay (January 25, 2011)."Cleveland Browns hire former Bears assistant Chris Tabor as special teams coordinator".The Plain Dealer.RetrievedJanuary 25,2011.
- ^Hangst, Andrea (December 27, 2012)."Finally, Cleveland Browns Kicker Phil Dawson Makes the Pro Bowl".Bleacher Report.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^Matt, Florjancic (January 27, 2013)."Cribbs proud to make Pro Bowl".ClevelandBrowns.Archived fromthe originalon January 30, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 27,2013.
- ^Finley, Patrick (January 12, 2018)."Chris Tabor is the Bears' new special teams coordinator".Chicago Sun-Times.RetrievedJanuary 12,2018.
- ^Gantt, Darin (January 27, 2022)."Panthers agree to terms with Chris Tabor".Carolina Panthers.RetrievedJanuary 27,2022.
- ^Gantt, Darin (November 27, 2023)."Panthers part ways with head coach Frank Reich".Panthers.RetrievedNovember 27,2023.
- ^Williams, Charean (January 26, 2024)."Report: Panthers will not retain Chris Tabor, allowing him to interview elsewhere".NBC Sports.RetrievedFebruary 15,2024.
- ^Florjancic, Matt (November 10, 2013)."Chris Tabor driven by memory of father, his coaching legacy".Akron Beacon Journal.RetrievedMay 18,2024.