Monte Kiffin, who served because the Buccaneers defensive coordinator for 13 seasons within the Nineteen Nineties and 2000s, died Thursday. He was 84. An NFL assistant for almost 30 years, Kiffin served because the driving power behind the Bucs’ dominant Tremendous Bowl XXXVII-winning protection.
Tony Dungy introduced Kiffin to Tampa upon being employed in 1996; the 2 had labored collectively in Minnesota beforehand. Kiffin stayed on past Dungy’s 2002 firing, remaining with the staff below Jon Gruden and architecting among the best defenses in NFL historical past. That includes 4 Corridor of Fame-bound defenders, the ’02 Bucs led the NFL in scoring and whole protection and intercepted 5 passes in a Tremendous Bowl rout of the Raiders.
Creating and unleashing the Tampa-2 protection that grew to become common within the NFL, Kiffin had beforehand served as Vikings DC in 1991 and Saints DC 4 years later. These had been one-offs, nevertheless, because the Bucs gave the longtime NFL assistant a shot. Kiffin definitely performed a big position within the Canton candidacies of Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber and John Lynch.
Additionally an assistant with the Packers, Payments and Jets, Kiffin later served because the defensive coordinator for son Lane in the course of the latter’s one-season keep because the Tennessee Volunteers head coach. Monte Kiffin adopted his son to USC earlier than returning to the NFL as Cowboys DC. This 2013 stint additionally stopped at one yr, with Dallas hiring Rod Marinelli as DC in 2014. Monte Kiffin stayed on for yet another season as a Cowboys assistant, nevertheless, earlier than a Jaguars cease. Kiffin’s last two teaching roles got here below Lane at Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss. The Kiffin patriarch was a Rebels analyst as not too long ago as final season.
The Bucs gig earned Kiffin a spot within the franchise’s Ring of Honor. Whereas the Bucs peaked in 2002, Dungy and Kiffin led the best way in rebooting a moribund franchise within the late Nineteen Nineties. The Bucs voyaged to the Tremendous Bowl XXXIV precipice, intercepting Kurt Warner thrice in an 11-6 defensive tussle. After two playoff losses in Philadelphia doomed top-10 defenses, the Bucs outscored their 2002 playoff opposition 116-37. 4 of Tampa Bay’s postseason TDs got here on pick-sixes, with three of these going down within the staff’s Tremendous Bowl romp.
