Chris Tabor’s time in Carolina has ended.
Friday, the former interim head coach/special teams coordinator was told he will not be retained by new Panthers head coach Dave Canales, a league source confirmed to The Observer. ESPN was first to report Tabor’s departure.
Tabor’s exit came roughly 24 hours after the Panthers reached an agreement with Canales, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, to become their next head coach.
According to a league source, offensive line coach James Campen, who arrived in Carolina with Tabor in 2022 under former head coach Matt Rhule, also won’t return under Canales.
Tabor had a virtual interview with owner David Tepper and the Panthers’ leadership team for the head coach vacancy earlier this month. The Panthers also blocked the New York Giants’ attempt to interview Tabor for their special teams coordinator opening early in the interview process. The Giants have since filled that opening with Michael Ghobrial.
Tabor will likely look to latch on with another squad with several new and reworked staffs being formed around the league.
The 52-year-old coordinator served as the team’s interim head coach for the final six games of the 2023 season. The team went 1-5 after former head coach Frank Reich was dismissed 11 games (1-10) into his tenure at the top.
During Tabor’s two-year tenure in Carolina, his special teams unit was considered a strength of the struggling team. But in 2023, the Panthers’ special teams group was tied with the Giants’ unit for the 23rd slot on writer Rich Gosselin’s annual rankings. The Panthers ranked fourth overall on the 2022 list.
Campen, a longtime offensive line coach, had a similar slide from 2022 to 2023.
Dealing with a plethora of injuries at both guard positions, Campen oversaw a turnstile within the interior offensive line. The Panthers started six different players at left guard and seven different players at right guard. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu also took a massive step back in pass protection in his second season. Center Bradley Bozeman dealt with inconsistency as well as he constantly battled the chaos around him at both guard spots.
Campen and Tabor were the longest-tenured coaches on the staff as a result of back-to-back mid-season firings.
Building Dave Canales’ coaching staff
Carolina has already gotten a jump start on replacing Tabor.
A league source told The Observer that the team has put in a request to speak with Seattle Seahawks special teams assistant coach Tracy Smith about their coordinator opening. Canales worked with Smith during the special teams coach’s two separate stints in Seattle.
Smith, a longtime NFL assistant, previously served as special teams coordinator for the Houston Texans in 2021.
The Panthers have also requested to speak with Buccaneers wide receivers coach Brad Idzik for their offensive coordinator position, a separate league source confirmed. Incumbent offensive coordinator Thomas Brown hasn’t been blocked from offensive coordinator interviews over the past month as he is likely to head elsewhere.
Idzik worked with Canales in Seattle before joining him in Tampa Bay. With Canales likely to call plays in Carolina, Idzik would largely serve as an offensive coordinator in title if hired. Brown had a similar arrangement with Reich during the first six games of last season. Idzik played wide receiver at Wake Forest and is the son of former New York Jets GM John Idzik Jr.
The Panthers have also requested to speak with Philadelphia Eagles senior offensive assistant Marcus Brady for the offensive coordinator position, a league source confirmed. Brady previously served as the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator under Reich in 2022. Brady was fired midway into the 2022 season before resurfacing with the Eagles.
Brady, a former CFL quarterback, has a background with coaching the QB position as well.
This story was originally published January 26, 2024 7:27 PM.
