Monte Kiffin

Monte George Kiffin (February 29, 1940 – July 11, 2024) was an American football coach. He is widely considered to have been one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern football, as well as one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history. Father of the widely imitated "Tampa 2" defense, Kiffin's concepts are among the most influential in modern college and pro football.

He spent nearly 30 years as an NFL assistant coach, including 13 years as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he won Super Bowl XXXVII. His defensive units finished ranked in the top 10 in points allowed and yards allowed 10 times during that period, an NFL record. Later in his career, he worked with his son Lane, who has served as the head coach of several major college programs.

Kiffin earned a reported $2 million annual salary during his time with Buccaneers and turned down several NFL head coaching jobs during his career. His only head coaching job was at North Carolina State University from 1980 to 1982.

Career
A native of Lexington, Nebraska, Kiffin was an offensive and defensive tackle at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1959 to 1963. In 1966, he played 8 games with the Toronto Rifles of the Continental Football League and also was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the same league. After a brief stint as a defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Kiffin returned to Nebraska as a defensive coach. Kiffin was the defensive coordinator at Nebraska under legendary coach, Bob Devaney. He coached the defenses of Nebraska's 1970 and 1971 back-to-back undefeated national champion teams. After then offensive coordinator Tom Osborne was selected as the head coach in 1973, Kiffin remained as the defensive coordinator. In 1977, he moved to the University of Arkansas, and then in 1980, he got his one and only head coaching job at North Carolina State University.

After his time at NC State, Kiffin began a series of short stints in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings (twice), New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints. In 1996, he became the defensive coordinator for the Buccaneers.

After Tony Dungy was dismissed by the Buccaneer front office following the 2001 season, Kiffin was persuaded by incoming head coach Jon Gruden to remain in Tampa and continue to run his defense. Kiffin had been interviewed for a head coaching position with the San Francisco 49ers. With the seamless transition on defense allowing the new coaching staff to focus intently on a more potent offensive philosophy, the result was an immediate balance between offense and defense that carried the Buccaneers to the organization's first championship in Super Bowl XXXVII on January 26, 2003 in San Diego, California.

Controversy surrounded Kiffin's departure from Tampa Bay. After Lane Kiffin signed with Tennessee, Tampa's typically stout defense underperformed. The Bucs lost their final four games of the 2008 season, ending up 9–7, and missed the playoffs. Reports stated that Gruden refused to allow Kiffin to announce his departure to Tennessee mid-season. Allegations were made that Kiffin refused to participate in normal coaching meetings. Neither Kiffin nor Jon Gruden openly discussed these events.

Monte joined the University of Southern California coaching staff as defensive coordinator, after his son Lane Kiffin became the head coach.

On January 11, 2013, following the 2012 NFL season, Kiffin was hired as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. Kiffin was demoted on January 28, 2014 in favor of defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. At the end of the 2014 season Kiffin's contract was allowed to lapse, and it was not renewed by the Cowboys.

Kiffin joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as a defensive assistant in March 2016.

Defensive philosophy
Monte Kiffin is the mastermind behind the Tampa 2 scheme, which is a slight modification of the Cover 2 scheme.

Personal life
Kiffin's sons are both football coaches. His older son, Lane, played football at Fresno State before entering coaching. He was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, USC Trojans, and Florida Atlantic Owls, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide and currently is the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. His younger son, Chris, played football at Colorado State and was most recently the linebackers coach for the Houston Texans.

Kiffin died in Oxford, Mississippi on July 11, 2024, at the age of 84.