What Chris Tabor said after the Carolina Panthers’ shutout loss to end rough season
The Carolina Panthers couldn’t get anything going on Sunday, getting shut out for the second consecutive week while gifting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers their fourth playoff appearance in as many years.
Here’s a recap what interim head coach Chris Tabor said after the 9-0 loss in his team’s season finale — about his team’s season stumbles, his own future and more.
Chris Tabor introduction
“No injuries to report after the game there. I tip my hat to Tampa Bay, congratulations to them. We shot ourselves in the foot, and we scored a couple of times and self-inflicted (wounds) took those points off the board. So that’s obviously very disappointing.
“I like how our guys bounced back from a previous week ... with regards to running the football. I thought our defense played really well, limiting those guys to field goals and giving us an opportunity. I thought our special teams handled field position. It was definitely a windy day out there. Had to do some navigation through that. But the season’s over now. That’s it. And with that I’ll answer any of the questions.”
Message to team after the game
“I just said that this room will change. This room will now change, and I think that the motto of ‘character or compromise’ will still continue for those kids, myself included. And I say that 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.”
On the touchdowns that got called back
“How deflating were they? Well, obviously we didn’t score any points off it so extremely deflating.”
On the illegal formation call that took Raheem Blackshear’s run back
“Apparently, I think they said that 79 was uncovered there so we didn’t have somebody on the line of scrimmage on the other side.”
You were part of the 0-16 Brown season. What did you learn from that?
“I think everything that I’ve said since I’ve taken over: It’s about the tape. What does your tape say? I mean, yes, 0-16 is horrible. This isn’t much better. And how you go from here is obviously is going to talk a lot about how you are as a person. I learned a lot that year and, you know, just kind of continue to try to keep getting better.
On offensive struggles in second half
“Well, obviously those turnovers were killers and I’ll say with the penalty, it’s a turnover. ... You’re talking about plays that we did to ourselves that we are in control of. That’s disappointing. I guess I’m being really nice about that, but, you know, we said that we were going to come in here and run the football, and even if they stuffed us, we were still going to try to run the football. And I thought we stuck to that plan pretty good.”
On his own future
“What’s next for me is I’m going to watch the film. I’m still going to stick to my process on that. We’ve got another team meeting tomorrow with the guys, and I’m still going to cherish my time with those players. As I’ve always said, it is about relationships. And that’s not just coach speak. I really care about all these guys and the coaches that we have.
“You know, when it’s final, that’s the one thing about the NFL that I learned when I first got in. You know, when the season ends, it just stops. You’re so used to a process and a routine and then all of a sudden it shuts down. What’s next for me? We’ll always see how that goes.”
How difficult have the previous two coaching changes been?
“I think if you follow this context: I have a job to do in my special teams area and to be a pro and to coach the guys as best I can, regardless of who the head coach is at that time. Whoever the head coach is, I’m always going to be a guy that’s going to work for that guy and do whatever we can to help him win. I’m a big chain of command guy.”
Evaluating team effort vs. Bucs
“I think that’s going to be big. And I told the guys that last night and told them that this morning again, especially these last games: How do you play when adversity is at its highest? I’ll be honest with you, that tape out there, we were still in it. We were playing, and I got a lot of respect for those guys in that room. How they battled. So I tip my hat to those guys, and I’m very appreciative of the effort they gave me.”
On building around Derrick Brown
“There’s plenty of guys you can build around here. There’s no doubt about that.”
On Bryce Young’s toughness this season
“I think when he’s in year 12 winning a lot of games and slicing people up a little bit, dicing it around, throwing it around. I said you’ll remember this first year, and you’ll probably look back and say you know what? It stunk at the time, but this really helped me get to where I’m at. He has a really bright future.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2024 at 6:25 PM.
