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Monte Kiffin, longtime coach and father of Lane Kiffin, dies at 84

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Monte Kiffin, the father of Lane Kiffin who put together a decorated NFL and college coaching career, has died. He was 84 years old.

Ole Miss announced Kiffin’s death Thursday, saying he was surrounded by family and friends in Oxford. He was working for the Rebels under his son as a defensive analyst after a coaching career that started in 1966 at his alma mater, Nebraska.

“Monte Kiffin, 84, peacefully passed away today in Oxford surrounded by family and friends,” Ole Miss’ announcement read. “As his grandson Knox said, he’s free of pain and smiling down on us from above. Please keep the Kiffin family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.”

Kiffin played at Nebraska in the early 1960s and went on to play a brief professional career after going in the 15th round of the 1964 NFL Draft. He got his coaching start at his alma mater in 1966 as a graduate assistant before moving up to defensive coordinator from 1969-76.

After a stint as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Kiffin became the head coach at NC State, amassing a 16-17 record during his three years in Raleigh during what turned out to be his only head coaching opportunity. He then headed to the NFL level with the Green Bay Packers as their linebackers coach in 1983 before stints with the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints in the same role.

In 1995, Kiffin got his first NFL defensive coordinator position with the Saints, but left after a year. That’s when he headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he made his mark as their defensive coordinator from 1996-2008. During that time, the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII and later inducted Kiffin into their Ring of Honor. Kiffin also developed the Tampa 2 defense during his time with the Buccaneers, which is a huge part of his legacy.

After the 2008 season, Kiffin departed the NFL level and returned to college under Lane at Tennessee as defensive coordinator in 2009. He then followed his son to USC as assistant head coach from 2010-12 before returning to the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys as their defensive coordinator in 2013 and as assistant head coach for defense in 2014. Following a year away, he then served as a defensive assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016 and at Florida Atlantic under Lane from 2017-19.