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Feature Photo: Bill Smith, Chicago Bears
Chris Tabor, Master of Arts in Teaching ‘99, Evening Campus, special teams coordinator, Cleveland Browns. Lives outside Cleveland, Ohio. Tabor played quarterback for four years at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., and coached at several colleges before getting the call from the NFL.
Tabor, a native of St. Joseph, Mo., began his college football career as the starting quarterback for the Benedictine College Ravens, Atchison, Kan. His hopes and ambitions carried beyond the playing field into the coaching profession. Coaching runs in the family: His father, Don Tabor, was a Missouri high school coaching legend for 40 years at Christian Brothers, Bishop Leblond and Benton high schools. His brother, Matt Tabor, continues that tradition today by coaching the St. Joseph Benton High School Cardinals.
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What do the NFL Cleveland Browns and Columbia College Cougars have in common? A 5’10,” blond, blue-eyed, visor-wearing, smiling assistant coach. Tabor now walks the sidelines of the Cleveland Browns as the special teams coordinator but before that he walked the hallways of Columbia College as an evening student seeking his Master of Arts in Teaching.
Tabor spent his formative years playing for and watching his dad coach. But he had even larger dreams. He wanted to coach in the National Football League. In 1995, he was serving as an assistant coach at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo. Tabor knew that he needed to pursue his master’s degree to accomplish his dreams, however, and that’s where Columbia College came into the picture. “Columbia College was the perfect fit for me,” he said. “Columbia College provided me the opportunity to continue to coach football and work on my master’s degree at the same time.” In 1997-99, Tabor’s path lead him to the University of Missouri as a graduate assistant offensive coach and later as running backs and special teams coach in 2000. He made