Chris Tabor enters his fourth season as the Bears special teams coordinator in 2021, after joining the club on January 12, 2018. It is his second stint with the club after initially holding the title of assistant special teams coach from 2008-2010. Prior to joining the club in 2018, he spent the previous seven seasons with the Cleveland Browns as their special teams coordinator.
For the third consecutive season in 2020, Tabor guided a return specialist to the NFL's Pro Bowl. Cordarrelle Patterson, after leading all NFC kick returners in 2019, once again took the top spot in the NFC in both kick return average (29.1) and kick return yards (1,017). He was also one of five players in the NFL and one of only two players in the NFC to have returned a kickoff for a touchdown in 2020. In addition to his single-season accolades, Patterson also made NFL history in Week 10 versus Minnesota after opening the second half by returning a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown, a Bears record. It was his eighth career kickoff return for a touchdown, which tied the NFL record in the Super Bowl era with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington.
Kicker Cairo Santos also shined under Tabor in 2020, making 27 consectuive field goals. Santos' record-setting streak broke Bears records in both consecutive single-season makes and overall consecutive makes spanning multiple seasons.
In 2019, a Bears return specialist was once again represented in the NFL's Pro Bowl under Tabor's guidance. Cordarrelle Patterson earned the honor after leading the league in kick return yards (825), finishing second in kick return average (29.5) and finishing the season as one of seven specialists to return a kick for a touchdown. Punter Pat O'Donnell set a Bears single-season record in net average (40.7) while kicker Eddy Piñeiro finished the season making 23-of-28 field goals (82.1%), the third-highest percentage of makes by a Bears first-year kicker.
In 2018, Tabor helped mentor return specialist Tarik Cohen to Pro Bowl honors after leading the NFL in punt return yardage (411 yards).
In Cleveland, the Browns were the only team in the NFL to have earned at least one AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award each season from 2011-2016. In total, the Browns won seven AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards. He also oversaw kicker Phil Dawson and returner Joshua Cribbs in 2012 when they were both were selected to the Pro Bowl, marking just the second time in team history that two specialists made the annual all-star game in the same year.
During his seven seasons with the Browns, Tabor helped numerous players set NFL and franchise records. Punter Britton Colquitt set the Browns net punting average record in consecutive seasons with 40.3 in 2016 and 40.6 in 2017. In 2015, kicker Travis Coons set an NFL record with 18 consecutive field goals to start his career, while Andy Lee set a franchise record in punt average with 46.71.
Prior to joining the Browns, Tabor spent three seasons (2008-10) as assistant special teams coach with the Bears. During Tabor's first stint with the Bears, Chicago consistently ranked among the league leaders in numerous departments. The Bears ranked in the top five in no less than nine different special teams categories combined over that three-year period. Chicago led the NFL in total return yards (6,570) and kickoff return yards (5,415), posted the second-best kickoff return average (25.1), ranked third in punt return defense (7.1) and produced the fifth-best punt return average (10.4). The Bears also registered six total kick returns for touchdowns in that time, which tied for second most in the league.
Also during Tabor's tenure in Chicago, the Bears tied for fifth in the league in punts inside the 20-yard line (90) and tied for seventh in field goal percentage (86.2). From 2008-10, Chicago was one of only six teams in the NFL to allow one or fewer kick return touchdowns as that total tied for second in the league over that three-year span.
Tabor also helped shape some of the NFL's top return specialists. In 2008, Danieal Manning led the NFL in kickoff return average (29.7). In 2009, Johnny Knox finished second in the league in kickoff return average (29.0) and earned a Pro Bowl selection as a kick returner. In 2010, Devin Hester led the NFL in punt return average (17.1) and punt return touchdowns (3) en route to earning a Pro Bowl nod as a kick returner.
In 2010, the Bears ranked first in the league in punt return average (17.1), second in kickoff return average (25.4), second in average drive start after kickoffs (31.5) and ninth in punt return defense (7.8). The Bears' special teams unit also ranked fourth in the NFL, based on a composite formula devised by Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News.
Prior to Chicago, Tabor spent two seasons at Western Michigan University (2006-07) as the running backs and special teams coach. He also spent four seasons at Utah State University, where he was the running backs and special teams coach in 2005 after being the Aggies' assistant head coach in charge of wide receivers from 2002-04.
Tabor coached at Central Methodist College (1995- 96) in Fayette, Mo., before spending four seasons at the University of Missouri. He spent his first three years with the Tigers as an offensive graduate assistant (1997-99) before moving into the role of running backs and special teams coach in 2000. He was also the head coach at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., in 2001.
From 1993-1994, Tabor built experience at the community college and high school levels, coaching at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College (1994) and Benton High School (1993) in St. Joseph, Mo.
Tabor graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he played four seasons at quarterback. He earned a master's degree in education from Columbia (Mo.) College.
He and his wife, Nikki, have two daughters, Paityn and Lainey.
