Chris Tabor loses interim coach debut, gets cheeseburger

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The Carolina Panthers' 21-18 loss Sunday to Tampa Bay spoiled Chris Tabor's debut as Panthers' interim head coach.

Carolina Panthers interim coach Chris Tabor stood on the sideline at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, scanning the field as the players went through pre-game activities.

Six days after coach Frank Reich was fired and Tabor was elevated, the former special teams coach gained the attention of one of the on-field officials.

“I think he was concerned about me being first game interim for the Panthers," Tabor said during Monday’s press conference at Bank of America Stadium.

The official inquired if Tabor needed anything.

"I told him I was a little hungry and could use a double cheeseburger,” he said with a laugh.

The entree may have been nice, but Tabor could have used a touch more offensive spice as the league-worst Panthers dropped a 21-18 decision to the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Offensive production has been nothing short of a delicacy this season.

‘I know this is a business’

Sunday’s loss officially eliminated the Panthers (1-11) from playoff contention in a weak NFC South. They are the first team to fall out of the NFL postseason race.

Since taking over the locker room last week, Tabor has preached the players need to have more fun. He understood how that may be misconstrued, considering the Panthers are on track for tying the record for worst season in franchise history, but he needed to start somewhere.

"I know this is a business,” Tabor said. “I got it, but just as you guys (in the media) have a job to do, I would assume that your job is fun and that you enjoy going to work.
“Mine has to be the same way, and I think that's just how you approach it.”

Tabor was asked if he had fun against Tampa Bay.

"Well, we lost,” he said.

But Carolina did have a shot to pull off a fourth-quarter rally.

Trailing by three with two minutes, 27 seconds remaining, quarterback Bryce Young faced a third-and-1 at the Panthers’ 40-yard line. Despite Chuba Hubbard providing a spark by becoming the first Panthers’ running back to eclipse the 100-yard plateau this season, Young delivered consecutive incomplete passes after failing to diagnose the correct pre-snap read. As he has for most of the 10 losses in which he’s started, Young absorbed his portion of the blame.

“Third-and-1 . . . just didn’t get executed,” Young said after the game, as reported by USAToday.com.

The game effectively ended when Buccaneers defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. Intercepted Young’s underthrown, fourth-down pass intended for wide receiver Adam Thielen.

“Fourth-and-1, that’s on me,” Young said. “Didn’t execute a pre-snap. Should’ve been a motion that gave us a better chance … Didn’t do a great job pre-snap.”

More offensive line woes

While scoring 18 points and compiling 282 yards would be considered pedestrian for most NFL offenses, those statistics were an improvement for the Panthers, who rank 29th in per-game scoring (15.9) and 30th in in yards per game (260.1). Still, it wasn’t enough to rally from an 11-point, second-half deficit.

The recurring culprit?

Protection problems along the offensive line.

Young was sacked four times Sunday, boosting his season total to 44 in 11 appearances. The two guard slots were occupied by Justin McCray and Nash Jensen, who represented the sixth and seventh players to play the position this season.

Tabor’s biggest challenge over the remaining five games is to keep the locker room together after five straight losses.

“At this point, still play for each other,” linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos said. “This team means everything to me. Having those guys out there with me is more than enough for me to go out and play hard."

Despite the loss, Tabor did get his cheeseburger.

“And it was good,” he said as walked away from the podium.    

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