So, did the Carolina Panthers wind up having a little more fun on Sunday afternoon?
If they did, it didn’t result in a win. Nonetheless, the message remains the same for the team and interim head coach Chris Tabor.
Tabor spoke with reporters following his first game leading the Panthers, a hard-fought battle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that ended in 21-18 loss. To close out his press conference, he was asked about the players’ response following a tumultuous week.
“I love those guys,” said Tabor, who took over for Frank Reich on Monday. “I’ll jump in a foxhole with those guys any day of the week. I feel for ’em. Losing stinks. And it’s hard, and it’s frustrating. But at the same time, you can handle things two ways—and that’s what we talked about. You can either handle with character or you can handle it with compromise. So which one is it gonna be?”
Unfortunately, the Panthers were compromised for their 11th defeat of the season—an outcome that officially eliminated them from playoff contention. This now marks the sixth straight season without a postseason appearance for the franchise, which has seen six different head coaches (interims included) at the helm over that time.
