Panthers make decision on Chris Tabor

Two of the Panthers’ three coordinators do not appear in the team’s plans. One officially will depart, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reporting the team is moving on from special teams coordinator-turned-interim HC Chris Tabor.

This will end Tabor’s two-year tenure with the team. A Matt Rhule hire in 2022, Tabor had two years remaining on his contract. The Panthers had also blocked him from interviewing for the Giants’ ST job. The New York position has been filled, but Tabor offers extensive experience on NFL special teams staffs.

David Tepper made keeping Tabor a priority last year, with both he and then-GM Scott Fitterer instructing HC hires to keep the ST boss on staff. Frank Reich did, and Tabor finished his second Carolina season as the team’s interim leader. Although Tabor interviewed for the team’s HC position, he was never viewed as a serious candidate for the job.

Still, it looked like Tabor had a chance to stay in his ST coordinator role under a third coach. Dave Canales will evidently not do so. Tabor, 52, has been in the NFL since the 2008 season. He has only coached with three teams in that span, seeing multiple teams keep him despite changing coaches. Hired during Pat Shurmur‘s run as Browns HC in 2011, Tabor stayed on in that role through the Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine and Hue Jackson tenures. The Bears have employed Tabor twice, the second time (2018-21) as ST coordinator.

Tabor went 1-5 as interim Panthers HC. The team is also not expected to retain OC Thomas Brown, who has already interviewed for two OC jobs (Steelers, Patriots). DC Ejiro Evero has been frequently mentioned as a candidate to stick around, but the Panthers look to have changed course with Tabor. If they backtrack on Evero, the defensive coach will likely end up a coordinator elsewhere. Evero remains in contention to become the Seahawks’ HC as well.