Chris Tabor has had a bit more on his plate than the run-of-the-mill special teams coordinator in 2023. But according to his players, he’s handled his extra servings quite well.
As the 2023 season draws to a close, the NFL Players Association asked over 1,700 players to rate the coordinators they’ve played under on a scale of one to 10. The results released on Thursday—and Tabor, who has also had to serve as the Carolina Panthers’ interim head coach for much of the campaign, comes in at No. 2 amongst all special teams coordinators.
The locker room’s respect for the 52-year-old is no secret in Charlotte, as he was one of the few holdovers during the team’s transition from Matt Rhule to Frank Reich. Tabor then transitioned into a dual role for the Panthers after just 12 weeks, taking over head-coaching duties from the fired Reich.
As is the case for offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who also rated second amongst his peers, Tabor’s work hasn’t pushed the Panthers to many victories. The 2-14 record, however, doesn’t do either man justice.
