As the Miami Dolphins move toward Sunday’s roster deadline, the biggest decisions won’t just be made by the head coach and general manager. Chris Tabor, the team’s special teams coordinator, is set to carry a surprising amount of weight in who survives the cut and who doesn’t.
The Dolphins have to get down to NFL roster limits, which means plenty of players are on the way out. Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan will make the final calls, but Tabor’s view of a player’s special teams value could end up shaping a lot of those choices.
That reality showed up when Tabor was asked at a recent press conference which rookies would be core special teams players this season. He answered without hesitation: " All of them," he said. "That's the world we're in."
That line says plenty about where the roster battle really lives. In a room where the coaches weigh which players deserve a place on the 53-man roster, the conversation can keep circling back to Tabor. Position coaches can push for their own guys, but if a player needs to prove he can help on special teams, the decision often runs through the special teams coordinator.
Kyle Louis is one example. Tabor has spoken well of the rookie safety, who is fighting for one spot in a competition that also includes Lonnie Johnson and Major Burns. Louis may be viewed as a linebacker/safety hybrid on the fringe, but special teams work could be the thing that gives him an edge if the competition stays tight.
The same dynamic applies elsewhere on the roster. Ben Sims is battling rookie DJ Herman for a spot, and Tabor has liked what he has seen from Herman during camp and over the last two preseason games. He said Herman is improving, and that special teams value matters in his favor.
That’s how these roster decisions often play out. The numbers at each position group may look fairly standard on the surface, but when a team keeps an extra safety or squeezes in another player who helps on coverage units, that’s usually a sign of the special teams coach’s influence.
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