Monte Kiffin

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Lore & Background

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 became Tennessee's head coach, 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 Gruden openly discussed these events.

In Their Own Story

In 1996, Kiffin became the defensive coordinator for the Buccaneers. He had spent nearly 30 years as an NFL assistant coach before that, including stints with the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings (twice), New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints. His only head coaching job was at North Carolina State University from 1980 to 1982, where he went 16–17 in three seasons. Kiffin earned a reported $2 million annual salary during his time with Buccaneers and turned down several NFL head coaching jobs during his career. After his time in Tampa, Kiffin spent one season as Tennessee's defensive coordinator under his son Lane, then followed him to the University of Southern California coaching staff. On January 11, 2013, Kiffin was hired as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, but was demoted on January 28, 2014, in favor of defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. At the end of the 2014 season his contract was allowed to lapse.

Reader's Guide

Monte Kiffin is the mastermind behind the Tampa 2 scheme, which is a slight modification of the Cover 2 scheme. 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. Kiffin's defensive philosophy was built on the Tampa 2, a scheme that uses a deep middle safety to take away the deep middle of the field, allowing the linebackers to play more aggressively underneath. This system was widely imitated across both college and professional football. Kiffin's concepts are among the most influential in modern college and pro football.

Did You Know?

• Monte Kiffin was born on February 29, 1940—a leap day.
• He played offensive and defensive tackle at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1959 to 1963.
• Kiffin coached the defenses of Nebraska's 1970 and 1971 back-to-back undefeated national champion teams.
• He earned a reported $2 million annual salary during his time with the Buccaneers.
• Kiffin turned down several NFL head coaching jobs during his career.