Columbia College Affinity Alumni Magazine - Winter 2011

Page 14

stops as head coach at Culver Stockton College, Canton, Mo. (2001), as running backs and special teams coach at Utah State University (2002-2005) and from there to Western Michigan University (2006-07). In the spring of 2008, his big break arrived. Tabor was hired by the Chicago Bears as the assistant special teams coach. During Tabor’s tenure, the Bears ranked in the top five in no less than nine different special teams categories combined over that three-year period. Tabor helped shape some of the NFL’s top return specialists: Danieal Manning, Johnny Knox, Devin Hester. This success led Tabor to his current position as special teams coordinator for

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the Cleveland Browns. “I believe that Chris is one of the up-and-coming special teams coaches in this league,” Mike Shurmur, head coach of the Browns said in the release announcing his hiring. “He’s smart, enthusiastic and has a true passion for this area of the game.” Tabor and his wife, Nikki, and two daughters, Paityn and Lainey, made the decision to leave the Windy City and head for Ohio to fulfill his dreams. So on any given Sunday, search the Cleveland Browns sidelines and look for a blond, blue-eyed, visor-wearing, small-town country boy who is forever smiling because Columbia College helped him achieve his dreams.

Mike Davis, women’s basketball head coach, Susan Davis, senior director of Alumni Relations and son Wes Davis, longtime friends of Coach Tabor.

“Columbia College provided me the opportunity to continue to coach football and work on my master’s degree at the same time.”


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