Former Buccaneers defensive coordinator and Ring of Honor inductee Monte Kiffin passed away today. post From the Ole Miss Football X (formerly Twitter) account.
Monte Kiffin, 84, passed away peacefully today in Oxford surrounded by family and friends. As his grandson Knox says, he is free from pain and smiling down on us from heaven.
Please keep the Kiffin family in your thoughts and prayers during this time. pic.twitter.com/eM1HT2lGHx
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 11, 2024
Kiffin served as the Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator under two head coaches from 1996 to 2008. He was there for 13 seasons, making him the longest-tenured head coach in Tampa Bay history. The Buccaneers welcomed him to the team. Ring of Honor 2021 He was just awarded the Hall of Fame Excellence Award last month. Prior to his induction into the ring of honor, Buccaneers owner and co-chairman Brian Glazer had this to say about him: “Monte Kiffin’s work in building and maintaining one of the greatest defenses in NFL history was essential to our franchise’s most successful era. Monte worked closely with Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden to implement his signature defense, which became the team’s identity and was key to our Super Bowl victory. He was an outstanding coach, teacher and leader, and always brought out the best in his players. We look forward to welcoming him into the ring of honor this season.”
The defensive wizard brought a long-awaited winning culture to Tampa Bay in the late ’90s and early 2000s with his vaunted “Tampa 2” defense, which helped launch the careers of many players, including future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber.
After his time with the Buccaneers, Kiffin followed his son Lane to the University of Tennessee, where he served as defensive coordinator for his brother, who was named head coach of the Volunteers, before following his son to the University of Southern California a year later and returning to the NFL as defensive coordinator and defensive assistant head coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 2013 and 2014.
Buccaneers DC Monte Kiffin’s Legacy
Kiffin’s lasting impact on the NFL will continue for decades to come with his signature Cover 2 style of defense.
Former Buccaneers DB coach Raheem Morris with DC Monte Kiffin – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
Known as the “Tampa 2,” for a few seasons in the early 2000s, this was the defensive style that most teams in the NFL tried to implement in an attempt to replicate the magic of his Buccaneers unit.
Kiffin’s legacy will live on not only for his tactical and tactical savvy, but also for the relationships he built and nurtured with players and coaches. Many current and former NFL coaches can trace their roots back to Kiffin, including Raheem Morris, Mike Tomlin, Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli, Herm Edwards and Gus Bradley. In addition to his coaching protégés, two of his sons also became coaches; Lane was head coach at Ole Miss, while his younger son, Billy, played for the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans.
Kiffin was 84 years old and is survived by his wife, Robin, two sons and three grandchildren.
