Monte Kiffin leaves a lasting legacy in both professional and college football
Monte Kiffin, father of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and former Ole Miss defensive line coach Chris Kiffin, passed away at the age of 84, but not before leaving a lasting legacy in college and professional football.
Kiffin, who is an alum of Nebraska and was a revered defensive coordinator for the Cornhuskers during two national title seasons (1970-71), began his coaching career in 1966 after having played for Nebraska as a defensive and offensive lineman.
He was the DC for Nebraska from 1969 to 1976 before leaving the college ranks to pursue a career in the National Football League where he earned his claim to fame in the coaching ranks.
Kiffin earned a reward from the Pro Football Hall of Fame recently. Kiffin received the Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence for his career as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, an honor well-deserved.
Kiffin coached in the NFL from 1983 to 2016, making numerous stops across the league. He is known for his main tenure as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 1996 and 2008.
There, he helped lead the Buccaneers to become a threatening defense that allowed the fewest points per game (17.5) while ranking second in both yards allowed per game (286.8) and total takeaways (293) during his reign.
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Those numbers are unheard in today’s football due to high-powered offenses and the rules bending toward offense so fans could see high-scoring games.
He helped architect the iconic “Tampa 2” defense that revolutionized the NFL. This defense culminated in the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl XXXVII win, which saw three Tampa Bay pick-sixes. Kiffin’s time with the Buccaneers helped him become a member of Tampa Bay’s Ring of Honor.
The Tampa 2 was a thing of beauty.
Since Lane has been at Ole Miss, Monte Kiffin has been an analyst for the Rebel defense, but in the past year or so his health began to fail. He would come to Rebel practices to observe from a golf cart and would inject some ideas for the defense, but he has been incapacitated for the better part of the last year.
Monte Kiffin is indeed a legend among football coaches for his innovations and career results. Football has lost a great one.
Our prayers and condolences to the entire Kiffin family.
Monte will be missed by the Rebel Nation and everyone in The Manning Center.
