Watching another Super Bowl from home must have been painful for Sean McDermott and Josh Allen, who have yet to translate their regular season success to the NFL playoffs.
Both of them still have all the support they need in Buffalo, yet the front office decided that some changes needed to be made on McDermott’s staff. That’s why they’re bringing a respected coach to take charge of an important unit.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Bills are hiring Chris Tabor as special teams coordinator for the 2025 NFL season, where Allen and company will be looking to get over the hump to make the Super Bowl once and for all.
Bills hire Chris Tabor after firing longtime McDermott assistant on Super Bowl day
Tabor lands in Buffalo to fill in a vacancy created only a few days ago. On Super Bowl Sunday, the Bills found a way to make headlines with a surprise firing of special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley.
Carolina Panthers interim head coach Chris Tabor reacts during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The decision was surprising only because McDermott said in his end-of-season press conference that Smiley would return next year, but the unit struggled big time during the 2024 NFL season.
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Apart from finishing 28th in average kickoff return yards allowed (30.8) and 26th in average kickoff return yardage (25.9) last season, the Bills noticed a concerning decrease in the production of kicker Tyler Bass, who ranked 26th in field goal percentage (24-for-29, 82.9%) and 32nd in extra point percentage (59-for-64, 92%).
Smiley had been part of McDermott’s staff since 2017, when he joined the Bills as assistant special teams coordinator before being promoted in 2021. Now, it’s time for a change in the unit with a very experienced man at the position.
Tabor’s success on special teams gives Bills reasons for optimism
Tabor arrives in Buffalo after forging a great reputation as a special teams coordinator, a position he held on the Cleveland Browns (2011-17), Chicago Bears (2018-21), and Carolina Panthers (2022-23).
His last job was particularly outstanding, with the NFLPA players ranking him as the NFL’s No. 2 special teams coordinator in 2023. On top of that, he made such an impression in Carolina that the front office trusted in him to helm the team in the final six weeks of the 2023 season, with Tabor serving as interim head coach following the firing of Frank Reich.
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After taking a year off, Tabor is returning to the NFL with a team that has serious aspirations. McDermott and Allen have yet to reach a Super Bowl, and Tabor’s help on special teams could be the key piece of the puzzle next year.
Let’s keep in mind that only a field goal once again prevented the Bills from defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs this year. It’s a game of inches, which is why Buffalo needs to get the best out of every unit.
