Tag: Chris Tabor

Johnny Hekker reacts to dismissal of ST coordinator Chris Tabor

Panthers P Johnny Hekker doesn’t seem to be feeling Friday’s news.

If Johnny Hekker is choppin’ wood in Charlotte come next season, it won’t be with Chris Tabor.

As first reported by ESPN senior NFL insider on Friday, the Carolina Panthers will not be retaining special teams coordinator Chris Tabor heading into 2024. Hekker, who spent the last two years punting for Tabor’s unit, reacted with this . . .

Tabor and Hekker both started their Panthers careers in 2022. Before even getting in a game with the four-time first-team All-Pro boot, Tabor said the following of Hekker:

“Well, I’ve played against him a bunch of times, and I’ve lost a lot of sleep playing against him. He’s a great athlete. Obviously, he’s been one of the best punters in the league. If you think about it and just look at him statistically, last year the Rams only had nine punts returned against them the entire year. Most teams you’re probably anywhere from the 35 to 40 range there. So just him taking away returners, punt location.”

Over their two seasons together, Hekker—who was already one of the most decorated punters in league history—averaged 47.6 yards per attempt with a net average of 43.3 yards. A well-documented trickster, Hekker also completed his only pass off a fake punt under Tabor.

[lawrence-related id=687064,683751,688643]

Panthers reportedly won’t retain ST coordinator Chris Tabor

Chris Tabor told Panthers players at the end of the season that the room will change. Unfortunately, it already has.

Unfortunately for Chris Tabor, he won’t be surviving another head-coaching change in Charlotte.

According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Carolina Panthers are not planning to retain Tabor as they head into the 2024 season. The special teams coordinator, who also served as the team’s interim head coach for the final six games of the 2023 campaign, will be free to seek employment elsewhere.

Tabor was hired by Carolina back in 2022, after stacking up a decade of experience as an NFL special teams coordinator. He’d make an impact in that very first year, coaching up the fourth-best special teams unit Rick Gosselin’s annual rankings.

Despite being brought in under Matt Rhule, who was the head coach from 2020 to 2022, Tabor was retained in the team’s transition to Frank Reich. Tabor would eventually take over for Reich following the team’s 1-10 start to his short-lived tenure.

The Panthers went 1-5 in Tabor’s six outings as interim head coach.

This decision comes less than 24 hours after the hiring of new head coach Dave Canales. Being that the Panthers previously rejected the New York Giants’ request to speak with Tabor back on Jan. 12, Canales and new president of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan may be looking for a special teams coordinator of their own.

[lawrence-related id=688997,688847,686603]

12 elevator pitches for the Panthers’ 12 HC candidates

There are 12 known candidates for the Panthers’ HC vacancy. What’s the greatest strength that each can offer to the organization? Let’s make some pitches.

There’s quite a lot to keep track of right now if you’re involved with the Carolina Panthers, who are currently in the middle of their second head-coaching hunt in as many offseasons. So, we’ll try to simplify the search.

Let’s make a pitch for each of the 12 candidates, highlighting the greatest strength they can bring to the struggling franchise.

Panthers complete virtual interview with Rams DC Raheem Morris

The Panthers announced they have completed their virtual interview with Rams DC Raheem Morris.

Head-coaching interview No. 6 is now wrapped up.

The Carolina Panthers announced on Wednesday that they have completed their virtual interview with Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. The 47-year-old is now the sixth candidate to chat with the organization about the head coach job—joining Chris Tabor, Ejiro Evero, Todd Monken, Mike Macdonald and Frank Smith.

Morris, save for a year as the defensive coordinator at Kansas State University, has been on the NFL sidelines for the past two decades. He got his start in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—where he rose up the ranks from a defensive quality control coach all the way to their head coach in 2009.

Tampa Bay went 17-31 under Morris over three seasons. His best campaign came in 2010, where he led the Bucs to a 10-6 mark.

Morris, who was fired following the 2012 season, landed in Washington as a defensive backs coach for three years. He’d move on to Atlanta, where he’d get an 11-game interim head-coaching run to close out 2020.

He has spent the last three seasons heading the Rams defense.

[lawrence-related id=689394,689384,689376]

Panthers complete virtual interview with Dolphins OC Frank Smith

The Panthers announced they have completed a virtual interview with Dolphins OC Frank Smith.

The Carolina Panthers have checked off another chat in their head-coaching search.

As announced on Tuesday, the team has completed their interview with Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith. The 42-year-old is now the fifth candidate to complete his virtual interview with the organization—joining 2023’s interim head coach and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.

Smith started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Miami University (Ohio) in 2004. He then moved on to Butler University, where he began as the offensive line coach in 2006 and moved up to offensive coordinator between 2007 and 2008.

His jump to the NFL sidelines came in 2010, as an assistant offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints. After five years in the NFC South, he became a tight ends coach—for the Chicago Bears between 2015 and 2017 and for the Las Vegas Raiders between 2018 and 2020.

The Milwaukee, Wis. native then went Hollywood in 2021, joining the Los Angeles Rams as their run game coordinator and offensive line coach.

Smith has since been conducting one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses in Miami over the past two seasons.

[lawrence-related id=689363,689352,689348]

Panthers reportedly deny Giants’ request to interview Chris Tabor

The Giants reportedly wanted to speak with Chris Tabor about their special teams coordinator job. But the Panthers reportedly denied them.

Chris Tabor is not exactly the favorite to land the Carolina Panthers’ head-coaching job. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be out of the building come next season.

According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the team has denied the New York Giants’ request to interview Tabor for their special teams coordinator opening. This would be the second time that the Panthers are turning away an outside inquiry into a member of their coaching staff, having already rebuffed the Jacksonville Jaguars’ interest in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero on Wednesday.

Tabor took over as Carolina’s interim coach after the organization’s dismissal of Frank Reich on Nov. 27. The 52-year-old, who remained the special teams coordinator while assuming his new duties, led the Panthers to a 1-5 record over the season’s final six games.

Like Evero’s situation with Jacksonville, Carolina was able to block New York’s request since they were hoping to talk to Tabor about a lateral move to their coordinator position. Those decisions are strong indicators that the Panthers will look to retain Evero and Tabor, at the very least, in their current roles.

Both men have also interviewed for the team’s head-coaching position this week.

[lawrence-related id=689256,689240,689236]

Panthers complete virtual interview with Chris Tabor on Wednesday

The Panthers have completed a virtual interview with 2023’s interim HC and ST coordinator Chris Tabor.

The Carolina Panthers have officially completed the first interview of their 2024 head-coaching search.

As announced on Wednesday, the team has conducted a virtual interview with 2023’s interim head coach and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor. Tabor took over in place of former head coach Frank Reich for the final six games of the season.

That six-game stint saw the Panthers, who finished at 2-15, go 1-5. Tabor told reporters this past Monday that his team’s lone win over that run, a walk-off triumph over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15, was his most memorable moment of the rough campaign.

“Didn’t like the way we played in New Orleans,” he said of Carolina’s Week 14 loss to the Saints. “Wasn’t real happy after the game on that one. And then to be able to look those guys in the eye and say, ‘Guys, we’re gonna win this next game.

“And go through that process the next week, and then you show up Sunday and it’s a rainstorm, windstorm, everything else is goin’,” he continued. “And it’s all we have. And we end up winnin’ the game. And to be able to celebrate in the locker room because we all did it together.”

The Panthers also noted that they are expecting to interview another in-house candidate, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

[lawrence-related id=689148,689193,689170]

Panthers expected to interview Chris Tabor for HC job

Per Joe Person of The Athletic, the Panthers are expected to give interim HC Chris Tabor a shot at knocking his interim label off.

Chris Tabor will get his chance to knock the “interim” label off.

As first reported by Joe Person of The Athletic on Wednesday, the Carolina Panthers are expected to give Tabor the opportunity to interview for their head-coaching vacancy. The 52-year-old served as the team’s interim head coach for the final six games of the 2023 season.

Tabor first came over to Carolina as their special teams coordinator in 2022. His sparkling reputation, as well as his highly-acclaimed work from that campaign, helped him survive the organization’s regime switch from Matt Rhule to Frank Reich last offseason.

After the team parted ways with Reich following their Week 12 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Tabor was named to the interim role. The Panthers went 1-5 over his six games at the post.

In addition to Tabor, who is now the 12th known candidate, Carolina is also expected to interview another in-house contender in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

[lawrence-related id=689041,689170,688997]

Chris Tabor recalls his most memorable moment of the season

Panthers interim HC Chris Tabor recalled his favorite moment of the season on Monday.

Monday morning was a particularly hectic one for the Carolina Panthers  . . . or at least whoever’s left of them. But that didn’t prevent Chris Tabor from answering the tough questions.

In what was likely the last press conference as the team’s interim head coach, Tabor was asked about his most memorable moment from an otherwise forgettable 2023 season. His answer may not surprise you.

“Didn’t like the way we played in New Orleans,” he said of Carolina’s Week 14 loss to the Saints. “Wasn’t real happy after the game on that one. And then to be able to look those guys in the eye and say, ‘Guys, we’re gonna win this next game.'”

The next game he was referring to was their Week 15 clash with the Atlanta Falcons—one that, despite the less-than-stellar conditions, gave Tabor his first win at the helm.

“And go through that process the next week, and then you show up Sunday and it’s a rainstorm, windstorm, everything else is goin’,” he continued. “And it’s all we have. And we end up winnin’ the game. And to be able to celebrate in the locker room because we all did it together.”

That celebration came after a walk-off field goal from kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who had previously spent time with Tabor back in Chicago. Piñeiro’s game-winner, his second of the campaign, also resulted in his second NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor as a Panther.

So, as Tabor himself has stated: The room will change, but the memories won’t.

[lawrence-related id=688992,688980,688958]

Chris Tabor to Panthers players after season finale: ‘This room will change’

Panthers interim HC Chris Tabor after Week 18 loss: ‘0-16 is horrible. This isn’t much better.’

Chris Tabor wasn’t being given an easy job when he took over as the Carolina Panthers’ interim head coach. But his messaging never wavered, from start to finish.

The finish came this afternoon, on a 9-0 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And now that the most embarrassing season in franchise history is all wrapped up, what did Tabor have to say to his players this time around?

“I just said that this room will change,” he stated after the game. “This room will now change. And I think the motto of character and compromise will still continue—for those kids, myself included. And I said you’ll probably pass that down to your kids as you become a parent. You can never lose sight of those lessons. Learn from it and move on.”

Not only did the Panthers become the first team in NFL history to go a full season without a fourth-quarter lead, but their 2-15 record made them just the second franchise to amass multiple 15-loss seasons. Ironically enough, Tabor was a part of the first franchise to hit that distinction—when he was the special teams coordinator for the 2016 and 2017 Cleveland Browns.

Those 2017 Browns, of course, finished an all-time worst 0-16 mark. So Tabor was asked about the parallels between then and now.

“I think everything that I’ve said since I’ve taken over—it’s about the tape,” he replied. “What does your tape say? I mean, yeah, 0-16 is horrible. This isn’t much better. How you go from here is obviously gonna talk a lot about how you are as a person.”

[lawrence-related id=688834,688817,688506]