On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins have to be compliant with the NFL's roster limits. That means cuts are going to happen. A lot of them, to be exact. While Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan ultimately hold the final decision, Chris Tabor will soon become the one coach with a lot of say in who makes the team and who doesn't.
Tabor is the Dolphins' special teams coordinator, and with the preseason winding down, he is becoming the most popular coach because for many players, their future runs through him.
Tabor was asked at a recent press conference which of the rookies would be core special teams players this year. His reply was quick and to the point. "All of them," he said. "That's the world we're in."
Chris Tabor will have more input into the Miami Dolphins roster than many think
Imagine every Dolphins coach sitting around a table with Hafley on one end and Sullivan on the other. Somewhere around that table is Tabor. The position coaches give their two cents on which players they think stood out and showed enough promise to take one of the 53-man roster spots.
This repeats around the room with the two top guys taking notes and asking questions, but it will always go back to Tabor at some point. Players at every position could have their roster fate decided by Tabor's evaluation of their value on special teams.
Tabor spoke highly of rookie safety Kyle Louis. A fringe player who may not make the roster as a linebacker/safety hybrid, Louis is competing for one spot against Lonnie Johnson and Major Burns, but if all things end up close to equal, the ability to impress Tabor tips the scales.
The special teams coach has more influence over a roster than anyone gives them credit. A WR coach could be lobbying for one of his guys to take up a spot over a cornerback. So Hafley asks Tabor. Ben Sims is fighting off rookie DJ Herman for a roster spot. So Hafley asks Tabor.
Tabor likes what he has seen in Herman this camp and over the last two preseason games. He said he is getting better, and because he is part of the special teams unit, he has value that Sims may not have, or another player, for that matter.
NFL rosters tend to shake out with an "X" number of players in each position group. It tends to be a regular formula, but when you see those odd numbers, like five or six safeties instead of four, you can point to the special teams coach for influencing those decisions.
It's often said that if you want to make a football team's roster, you'd better perform your best on the special teams units. For many players this year, that is absolutely true.
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