Chris Who?
The new Cleveland Browns era begins with the hiring of head coach Hue Jackson. The new coach has plenty of work ahead of him, including finalizing his coaching staff. As expected, Jackson wants to hand pick his own staff, but luckily for Chris Tabor, he gets to stick around.
With a franchise that is in disarray, Tabor, the special teams coordinator, had been one of very few consistencies. He survived his third coaching change since becoming a Cleveland Brown.
For those who don’t know Tabor, after spending three years with the Chicago Bears, he was brought to Cleveland by then head coach Pat Shurmur in 2011.
What Chris has brought to Cleveland has gone unnoticed to most, but it’s time to shed light on his accomplishments. Since 2011, Cleveland leads the NFL in punt return average (11.3), tied 5th in kickoff return average against (21.7), tied 6th in punt return touchdowns (4) and won six AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards.
Not to mention he managed first year kicker, Travis Coons, as he set an NFL record with 18 consecutive field goals to start a career. Additionally, punter Andy Lee set single season franchise records with a 46.71 yard punt average and a 40.14 yard net punt average.
Tabor has forged some Pro Bowlers like Cleveland favorites Josh Cribbs and Phil ‘The Drill’ Dawson. A third Brown made the Pro Bowl under Tabor’s tutelage and that is Johnson Bademosi, who leads the league in special teams tackles since 2012 with 61.
With all this in consideration, one would suggest that retaining Chris Tabor was not just a subtle accomplishment, but a beneficial one too. The special teams coordinator may not be a glamorous job, but someone has to do it. Cleveland Browns fans should be glad that Chris Tabor is the man for that job.
-Max Gold
Images Credited to: www.profootballspot.com
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