Hafley’s first hire: Dolphins snag new special teams coach from division rival
New Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley made his first hire on Friday, snagging Chris Tabor away from the Buffalo Bills to be the team’s new special teams coach.
Tabor, whose hiring was confirmed by a league source, was available because the Bills staff is in flux following the firing of coach Sean McDermott.
Tabor has served as the special teams coordinator for four NFL teams: the Cleveland Browns (2011-2017), Chicago Bears (2018-2021), Carolina Panthers (2022 and 2023) and the Bills this past season.
After Frank Reich’s dismissal, he served as the Panthers’ interim coach to finish the 2023 season and went 1-5 in that role. He also coached the Bears in one game (a loss) in 2021 when Chicago coach Matt Nagy was sidelined by the COVID-19 virus.
Tabor, 54, will be the Dolphins’ third special teams coach in three years, following Danny Crossman, who was dismissed after the 2024 season, and Craig Aukerman, who was hired a year ago but wasn’t retained by Hafley.
Tabor, who grew up in Missouri, was a quarterback at Benedictine College and worked at six universities before breaking into the NFL as the Bears’ special teams coach in 2008.
He takes over a unit that had one of the league’s best returners last season in Malik Washington but also has a decision to make at kicker (between free agent Riley Patterson and under-contract Jason Sanders) and at punter (Jake Bailey is an impending free agent).
The Dolphins had several special teams breakdowns last season, including a Patriots kickoff return for a touchdown in Week 2, a costly roughing penalty against Zach Sieler in a Week 3 game at Buffalo and a botched handling of an on-side kick by New Orleans in November.
This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 6:14 PM.
