Dolphins hire Atlanta’s Kyle Smith as assistant GM and Buffalo’s Chris Tabor to lead special teams

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - The Miami Dolphins began putting together their new staff under head coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, hiring former Bills special teams coordinator Chris Tabor for the same role and adding Kyle Smith as assistant GM, a person with knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the hirings.

Tabor spent the past season coaching Buffalo's special teams and held the same title for three other teams: Carolina (2022-23), Chicago (2018-21) and Cleveland (2011-17).

It's the first hiring for Hafley, the former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator who the Dolphins formally introduced on Thursday along with Sullivan.

Tabor will take over a unit that was uneven last season. Miami's special teams got a lot of production from returner Malik Washington, but had numerous penalties and breakdowns in coverage, including a costly roughing the punter call against Buffalo in Week 3.

Smith spent the past five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, working his way up from vice president of player personnel in 2023. He will be tasked with helping Sullivan rebuild Miami's roster, which will include working through salary cap constraints - Miami entered the offseason about $23 million over the cap - and figuring out which pieces to build around.

"It's not going to be an easy road, but I think the journey is well worth going on," Sullivan said Thursday, "and we will do it together and we will achieve together. When we get to the end of this thing and we hoist that trophy, we'll realize that we started at the bottom, we fought our way to the top, and it will be one of the more special moments of all of our lives.

"I have no doubt that we will get there."