The Miami Dolphins’ new general manager-head coach tandem is in place, and on Friday night, Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley got started on filling in positions around them.
The Dolphins are reportedly hiring Kyle Smith as assistant general manager, according to NFL Network, and Chris Tabor as special teams coordinator, according to ESPN.
Smith, 41, is coming over from holding the same assistant GM role with the Atlanta Falcons the past three seasons. The Falcons, like the Dolphins, are in the midst of a franchise overhaul that involved moving on from their coach (Raheem Morris) and GM (Terry Fontenot).
He was also vice president of player personnel in Atlanta the two seasons before that, and he spent the entire 2010s moving up the ranks through various roles with Washington.
Smith had a playing career as a wide receiver out of Youngstown State, but he didn’t make the active rosters of the 2006 Minnesota Vikings and 2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers before moving around NFL Europe, Arena Football League and Canadian Football League.
He will now be Sullivan’s No. 2 in helping build the Dolphins’ roster.
Tabor, 54, serves as Hafley’s first known hire on the coaching staff, after he said in Friday interviews he hopes to have his three coordinators by the end of the weekend.
He comes from within the AFC East, as he was special teams coordinator for the Buffalo Bills last year, but they are reshaping their coaching staff after firing coach Sean McDermott.
He has also been special teams coordinator with the Carolina Panthers (2022-23), Chicago Bears (2018-21) and Cleveland Browns (2011-17). With the Panthers, he was also interim head coach at the end of the 2023 season.
The Dolphins now go to their third different special teams coordinator in three seasons. Craig Aukerman was under ex-coach Mike McDaniel in his final season, and before him, Danny Crossman held the job.
This story will be updated.
