It’s that time of year again in the NFL.
Teams with coaches on the hot seat are going to spend this holiday season firing the people they put in charge.
On Monday, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich was the second to fall (after the Raiders’ Josh McDaniels) when he was fired after less than a year on the job.
That gives Reich the distinction of being axed in the middle of the season from two different teams in successive years.
In his place, Carolina special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will steer the ship the rest of the way, according to Ian Rapoport.
One and done 🚨 🚨 🚨
The #Panthers have fired coach Frank Reich, sources say, moving on before his first season is over.
Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor is the interim coach and addressing the team now. Jim Caldwell moves to special advisor working with the offense. pic.twitter.com/Cn0WUJPhYA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 27, 2023
Tabor was previously with the Cleveland Browns as their special teams coordinator from 2011-2017.
The only other experience Tabor has as a head coach was a one-year stint with Culver-Stockton College in Missouri in 2001.
His coaching experience in the NFL has been running special teams for three different organizations.
Last November, Reich was let go after a 3-5-1 start and a little over four years on the job with the Colts.
Panthers owner David Tepper hired him in late January of this year.
After the Panthers began 2023 1-10, Tepper then fired Reich.
Meanwhile, Tabor will lead an organization that is in disarray and looking for some type of inspiration.
Carolina has a rookie quarterback in Bryce Young, who no longer has his quarterback mentor in Reich.
The schedule won’t get much easier for Tabor as the team faces NFC South foes Tampa Bay (twice), Atlanta, and New Orleans before the year ends.
They also meet Trevor Lawrence and Jacksonville, along with a surging Green Bay team.
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