The Buffalo Bills have started making adjustments to their coaching staff, beginning with the firing of special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley. They wasted no time in selecting his successor.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bills are set to hire Chris Tabor, former interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers, as their new special teams coordinator.

“Tabor will join the Bills as special teams coordinator, per sources, after spending last season away from the NFL,” Schefter posted on X. “Now he returns to Buffalo.”

Tabor is returning to the NFL after sitting out the 2024 season.

A native of St. Joseph, Missouri, Tabor’s coaching career began at the high school level as an assistant coach at Benton High School. He then moved on to coach running backs and later served as offensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College and Central Methodist University.

Tabor then held positions as the offensive graduate assistant and later running backs and special teams coach at Missouri, before continuing his career with Culver-Stockton, Utah State, and Western Michigan.

His NFL journey began in 2008 with the Chicago Bears as assistant special teams coach under Lovie Smith. He later became the special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, a team that earned at least one AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award every year he was there.

Tabor returned to the Bears as special teams coordinator for four years, then joined the Carolina Panthers in the same role. After Frank Reich was fired, Tabor stepped in as interim head coach, finishing with a 1-6 record.