Friends, have you ever woken up in the morning and thought to yourselfself, I've got a really bad name for a podcast this week. We call this thing the Happy half Hour, but there is nothing necessarily happy about what's going on in Bank of America Stadium this week. If you are listening to this podcast and are part of the Happy half Hour family, you are obviously aware of what's going on. The Panthers have changed coaches in Week
thirteen of the NFL season. Frank Reich is no longer among us here with the Panthers, and Chris Haber is taking over as the interim head coach. One of the things I always it's almost like a preamble I have to use every year in print when stuff like this happens. This is not a thing to celebrate, because no matter how you felt about Frank Reich, the Carolina Panthers, or the fate of the ballgames you've watched this year, there are actual people on the other side of this transaction.
And Frank didn't just bring himself and his family back to Charlotte. He brought a lot of other people who packed up and moved families across the country, and there are a lot of people with uncertain futures now as a result of this, So I will this is my annual or semi annual plea for decency and decorum from the fan base when we consider this. But it's obviously been a tough week and there's no getting around that. You know, the Monday news was not anything anyone was expecting.
I mean, as players heard the word from Dave Tepper around ten o'clock and then they're sort of looking around like, all right, what do we do now? And Chris Taber basically send everybody home Monday afternoon, and players were walking out the door like not really sure what's going to happen next. So it's been an unusual time for them as it pertains to Tabor and moving forward, it's a
miracle of compartmentalization. The work is going on. I mean, you know, he's talked about trying to keep things as normal as he could. The normals kind of a tough thing to sell when you're one to ten and fire ahead coach after eleven games in the NFL. But at the same time, I think a lot of guys were cognizant that the change came because things were not working and if There's been a consistent theme throughout the Carolina
Panthers season. It has been that a defense has played well enough to give them a chance and the offense hasn't done enough to make it count. And it happened
ten times over the course of the season. And I think when you saw the last two weeks, the way they unfolded, you know, Frank came in and took play calling back from Thomas Brown, which was a thing not a lot of people suspected, but I sort of from watching Frank and hear every day, it felt like at the time that was Frank's way of saying, if there is going to be pressure, put it on me, because the pressure is implicit. The pressure exists in the NFL,
whether you care for it or not. And I think Frank realized that things were not working out and this was kind of his last chance. And when you do that and you come back with ten points against Allas and ten points on the road against the Titans and two more losses, I think a lot of people, I don't want to say expected it, but understood the reasons for.
You know, this offense is in the bottom five of the league, and most of your major statistical categories, and the short version of it is nothing worked and it didn't change and adapt and from changing play callers once twice, moving personnel around, you know, trying this, trying that, there
was just never a coherent hole with that offense. And that's the part that surprised so many people, because you know, Frank Wright came in this offseason and hired that staff to great fanfare, and everybody imagined, you know, there were going to be brighter days ahead. Number one overall pit quarterback and Bryce Young that the entire league wanted six months ago. Let's not get that twisted now, just because CJ.
Stroud's playing good football down in Houston, probably twenty eight to twenty nine teams of the thirty two would have made the same selection the Carolina Panthers made, if not more honestly, because the consensus was there all throughout the offseason on Bryce Hung and when the results became what
they became. This is what happens in the NFL, and Dave Tepper has addressed it, Chris Taber has addressed it, and at this point, the Panthers are left with six weeks of season to try to put things back together as best they can I mean, while there is a mathematical chance at the playoffs and podcast Matt can cueue up the Jim Carey SoundBite of you saying there's a chance. Well, I mean, I guess if you're into that kind of thing, but I don't think it's useful to think of it
in those terms. I think mainly what the Carolina Panthers have to do for the next six weeks is put together some solid football guys who are going to be free agents, are playing for the next contract. It would be helpful, even though no one knows what the next full time head coach is going to want to do offense, for Bryce to play some coherent football, for the passing game to look a little more polished as you try to develop not just Bryce Young, but a Jonathan Mingo
outside at wide receiver. I mean, Mingo actually probably had one of his better games of the season last week in Tennessee, So you want to see more from him. You want to see more from Bryce. I think more than anything else, there'll be that moment where the Carolina Panthers kind of get back to a little bit of last year's identity where they want to be more physical. They want to run the ball, and some of that
was absent. I think some of the things that Frank and his staff tried to put in offensively were at cross currents with the personnel. I think they had a power blocking offensive line and tried to move them around in different ways that weren't natural fits for those guys. And that's why things That's part of the reason things look so disjointed. But it's not just you know again, I've made the point in the mail bag a couple of days ago. Ikiakwan, who didn't just forget how to
pound block. He went ten games last year without giving up a sack after giving up three in the first two of his NFL career. And I think getting back on a more stable footing and doing things they may be a little more comfortable with is probably going to put the offensive line in better stead. If the offensive line looks better, they'll run better. If they run better, Bryce will have a little more time, And I think
that's helpful for Bryce too. But at this point, because we don't know what Thomas Brown wants to call offensively with the assistance of Jim callwell, we don't know what Chris Taber wants to do philosophically. A lot of it's kind of guesswork, and in a twisted way that works out okay against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday because the Bucks have certainly had their own struggles defensively of late. They are not good. They are like the Panthers offensive
stats in reverse down there. So that's an opportunity, I guess for all this new stuff to colls something. But we just got to see how how things come together. Right now, Chris Taber is doing his dead level best to try to make things normal again, to use his word from Wednesday, and it's never going to be normal in week thirteen when you change coaches of an eighteen game season. But you know, Chris has got the personality
at least to try to keep things afloat. And with that said, it's probably time to go to our special
guest Happy Half Hour interview. If you were around for last week's edition, the Thanksgiving edition of The Happy Half Hour, we talked to Director of Performance Nutrition Kate Callaway, and I said last week, I want to go around the building and talk to the people who are bringing positive energy to the process, and this guy was on my list even before, even before any of this stuff happened, with coaching changing, Chris Taber becoming the guy, Assistant Special
Teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons is one of those people. He is an energy guy, and in Special Teams that's an energy field. Fitz is one of those energy guys.
So here's our.
Conversation with Devin Fitzsimmons in which we talk about his job, Chris Tabor and how he's well suited to this task at hand and many other things. Check it out all right, As promised, I told you all last week when I talked to Kate Colway, our director of Performance Nutrition, I wanted to wander around the building and bring a little insight from the people who bring joy to this place every now and then. And who better than Assistant Special
Teams coach Devon fitz Jimmons. Yeah, I know, we very rarely address him that way. It's fits around here and we appreciate him taking all the time.
Fits. How you doing friend?
Better for you? Asking?
See, this is one of my favorite parts about you. You got more one liners than anybody in this building. And I started springing out on people when I was working on elections the other week and you drop a better for you asking on somebody and they just don't know what to say half the time.
Do they.
You know, it's classic as you get the pause because there was expecting oh yeah, good, hell, but you drop that on them.
I'll tell you what. Now you're gonna get some attention right there.
There you go. And you've been doing this all summer.
I remember in training camp one of the DB's was hot or something was going for a cold tale and you were checking on and see if he's alright.
He said, no, coach, I'm good. I'm just about I'm sweating like.
A dog over here, and you just looked at him, said, man, dogs don't sweat.
So you just trying to provide a structure in a supervision all the time.
You know, life lessons as well as cover and kicks.
That's what it's all about.
Well, listen, I wanted to check in with you for a couple of reasons. A because you bring a little positivity to the place when it needs it, no doubt about that. But you work alongside Chris Taber as closely as anybody in this building as his assistant. Coming in You've known Chris for ten years, been working for him
all this year after joining us from Arizona. I just wanted, as you work with him, what is it about him that kind of stands out as a coach that kind of helps him in a situation like this where he's kind of put in a weird situation being an interim head coach.
Well.
I think also is that Taves is, first off, he's a tremendous human, Like he cares about people.
He cares about your families, he cares.
About the all around person, and I think that's what makes them separate from other people.
And the other thing, like Taves is consistent as all get out, Like you know.
Whether it's he's using humor to make a coaching point, he's getting on guys. I mean, he's the same guy every day, no matter what it is. I mean, he's as consistent as he's pretty much consistent as waffle.
House waffle house. How's that?
I mean, you know, you go to any waffle house anytime of day twenty four, seven, three sixty five or sixty six.
In certain years, you know the smother, cover and chop is going to be the same no matter what.
So what is your waffle house order? While we're on.
That double waffle, christy bacon and of course smother covered chop.
So you you sound like you've done that before due to.
My curvency many many times. Hell, you should go there on Thanksgiving.
I could do it and they're going to be open and you know what you're gonna get.
But talking about tabs.
The other thing that to me stands out about him in this situation, coming in as an interim into a weird spot obviously, but he's got a way of making practice fun or making meetings fun. What is it about him when you get in that meeting that kind of helps him keep everybody's attention.
You know what Taves does a great job of is mixing in humor and coaching point and reaching the guys and getting on them without getting on them. Now, it ain't no doubt he'll get on guys if it's warranted.
But here's the thing. It's like he's not asking you to.
Memorize the Bill of Rights or the Preamble to the Constitution. He's saying, do the right thing, be on time, you know, be a pro and all he jew is asking you to do the little things. He treats people like men.
He's ultimately transparent and candid.
But the thing about it is like, listen, I'm just asking you to be on time.
I'm askining to do those things, not in sinuining like people aren't.
But it's this little things that he's able to cultivate into the bigger picture, you know, and being a pro and doing the right thing. And I tell you, and then the amount of jokes and nicknames are in the Special Teams room is absolutely outstanding.
Well, I know JJ Janssen's the old man of the sea around this place.
He's probably just JJ isn'ety.
Unfortunately it is just JJ, you know what I mean.
But he probably has been playing for the Panthers when Ernest Hemingway wrote.
That that book.
What's give me another example, what's a good tabe's nickname that he dropped on somebody that caught you by surprise.
I will have the player remain anonymous.
But Groot is a is a popular one in the room. Uh. He certainly acts and talks and moves like Groot.
We're gonna leave that to some people's imaginations. But I got some suspicions that could be anyway.
But he does.
I mean I saw him today in the locker room as reporters were leaving and he was trying to get guys in for special teams. He's barking, all right, three minutes, this plane is about to depart for punt block.
And it's not.
Anything big, and it's not like, you know, a shaky green routine or anything, but I imagine that keeping it light helps in a situation like this, doesn't it.
It does, but it goes back to that's who he is, you know what I mean. Again, he's the double wawful that's always delicious with butter and syrup. But like he starts meeting with that old school you know, probably when you and I were growing up, with the pencil sharpers were on the wall.
That bell, you know what I mean, starts the meeting off.
You know, somebody says, on whatever it is, the bell's getting tapped.
But it's the level of consistency, the care.
Obviously, he's an elite football coach, amazing football coach that can adjust in games faster than anyone I've ever been around, and he does an unbelievable job that and the way he reaches the players and calms players down, you know what I mean, it's really an uncanny skill set that he has.
It really is.
And you guys job, I mean your job in particular is changing tires on a moving car. I mean special teams never know is from one week to the next, who you're going to have available, who's active, who's hurt. Somebody gets hurt in the middle of the game, and all of a sudden, Sam Franklin's a safety on defense instead of a gunner on the punt team.
That's just Jones life, isn't it.
That's right? And it may not be of the same four tires on the car.
So eventually we want to get that thing online out there, you know, the ten thousand miles or wherever you get them rotated.
But that's the thing, you know, no matter what it is, we have to.
Make it work. And Taves this has a great ability. What does this player do well?
You know?
And so he's going to put that player in position to do well and then so that it's not out of sorts. And he's always like, listen, just play fast, play tough, play hard.
If you make a mistake, cool, get it fixed, don't do it again. Play fast, play hard.
And I think one thing our special teams and our team does a great job, but we play hard and yeah, my mom used to say, I ain't coaching effort.
Yeah, no doubt about that.
And there have been times you talk about all four tires not necessarily the same.
Y'all have had the doughnut on a time or two.
This year, it's been a donut of VF.
Goodridge, one of those fancy tires back in the day where it split.
The water out on the rain. You know, it's been all.
Kinds of stuff on there, no doubt.
Well, listen, no training wheels though we ain't got no training wheels.
We're rolling, Yeah, I hear that.
Well, listen, I want to catch up with you too, because in addition to changing m tires on moving cars, in addition to having all this background with Chris Taber, you are also, without a doubt, the best dressed coach on this Panthers staff at the moment.
That's not closed, is it.
No.
Coach Cooley definitely has me crushed. So I mean he's the guru, trust.
Me, listen. Cool, he's got style. I'm not gonna take that away from him.
But I've seen you walk on planes and this is this is where you're in my kitchen here, you got seersucker suits plural, You're not just one seersucker.
You get how many of those things do you have?
Being from the walls, the home of a seersucker had no offense to anybody else.
But I got three of them things.
Now I've got the classic blue, I've got the traditional tan.
Then I want a little crazy, all right, I got the cream seersucker. Yeah. Of course you got to have the saddle shoes to go with them.
See now you go saddle shoes, and I respect it. I took pictures of it when I first saw you walk in with the saddle shoes and the seersucker earlier this year.
But I got a pair of white Swedes I wear with mine.
Oh no, no, that's classic. Absolutely it's either Swede or saddle shoes. You know you're not wearing cole Hans with a seersucker.
No, it's and it is a suit of gentlemen.
I mean, I've sat in Baptist churches in August with the ac broken and not broken a sweat, and you can get away with it. And you know, again you're from Louisiana. You know a little bit about that.
That's right, And unlike everybody else i'mant wear past Labor Day. I ain't scared to do that. Now I will bust a sear sucker out for a Christmas game.
Hey, it's gonna be in the eighties in Tampa on Sunday.
Maybe we'll let the suspense build coach.
All right, Well we got something to look forward to now when we get on the plane.
Well, while I got you another couple of minutes. I mean, you mentioned being from Louisia, and you're not from New Orleans proper, are you?
No?
So I got kin folk there.
I'm from a small town Folst, Louisiana, about an hour north of the city. Grew up on a thumughbread breeding horse farm, and we used to board horses as well. So you know, I was out early mucket stalls before we opened Christmas, before we went the church. So everybody else told me about their Christmas presence. I told them how much crap I shove them? Am I allowed to say crab?
Yeah?
I think you can say crap. This is a podcast. It's the Happy half Hour. I think we're working on a liquor sponsorship or something, so you can say.
We're Genres half Hour.
Happy Yeah, we're definitely moving down that path. Get the sponsorship department on the phone. We got business to do. So anyway, you grew up in fulsome no prison, but a lot of horses.
You and Jake Delaw imagine got some shared experience there.
Oh yeah, he grew up a hop skipping and jump away in southwest Louisiana.
So we talk horses a good amount. You know, the fairgrounds.
I used to go to the fairgrounds as a kid, and I was a runner for my grandpa and everybody you know during the racetracks, and you know, it was a great time.
You certainly learned what chores and hard work were.
In fact, speaking of hard chores as a kid, I need to get my seven year old limb my four year old nor they start putting them to work.
That sounds good. Young people ought to work. That's I mean. Work ethic is a thing that's going to carry you through your whole life. And that's whether you're mucking out stalls or running down kicks on special teams or writing for a football team website.
That's the truth.
Yeah.
I just found out paper routes on around anymore, So lim can't do that.
Yeah, there are no papers anymore, that's breaking news. Well listen, man, I appreciate you taking a couple of minutes. I know it's a busy week, but I appreciate you sharing, sharing a little background on Chris Tabor, who we're all getting to know a little better this.
Week now that he's the interim coach.
But you know there it is Racontour, fashion plate, world renowned gentlemen of leisure. I won't bother using the government name again. It's Fitz Fitz.
I appreciate you.
Letters one syllable, easy to remain a man.
All right, appreciate you Fitz all right, And that was Devin Fitzimmons. What did I tell you? Who's better than that guy? That guy is funny. I love talking to him. I mean, he's got more one liners than certainly me, but anybody else on this roster. And the whole thing about better for you asking? I have stolen that in my day to day life now when people roll up on me, how you doing there? Better for you asking, and.
It just catches them off guard.
Nobody knows what to do with that kind of positive energy in the universe. Maybe we should become more accustomed to it. So I appreciate I appreciate Fits. I will not call him his government name, as he calls it too often. We do it out of formality here because this is a very appropriate podcast. But Fitz is one of the good people in the building and I've enjoyed getting to know him in his year here after coming to us from Arizona, and he's been a positive addition.
And you know, again, with tabes out running a whole football team, he's effectively in a lot of ways a special teams coordinator now, so I think he's got a bright future in the business. And again, beyond that, I think when you try to focus on what matters at a time like this, he's good people. And the more good people you can have in operation like this at a time like this, the better off you are. All Right. That will cover us for another week of the Happy
Half Hour. I know this one's running a little later than our normal Thursday morning deployment or whatever time podcast Matt gets it out, but we're doing the best we can. This has been a little bit of an unusual week, so I appreciate the grace for waiting a few hours extra then you normally would for the Happy Half Hour. But we appreciate you joining us, and tune in next week when I will wander around the building and find somebody else who's spreading a little joy around this place.
And you never know, we may be talking about some different football stuff too. Until next week, friends, this is the Happy half hour.