Hampton Remembers Special First Year with Kiffin from 1977 Team

His "ace up sleeve" played big role in surprising Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Some Arkansas fans who don't even know Lane Kiffin's father, Monte Kiffin, once coached the Razorbacks' defense, but they should. It was his idea for a defense that shut down Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl after the 1977 season.

"Coach Kiffin had an ace up his sleeve for that one," All-American defensive tackle Dan Hampton remembered Thursday evening.

The news of Kiffin's death at the age of 84 got to him at his home by way of a pair of teammates from that team who were huge Kiffin fans.

Linebackers Jim Howard and Mike Massey were part of a trio of great players with Larry Jackson who weren't heralded before that year. Kiffin came in, coached them into one of the best position groups in the country as the Hogs' linebackers coach.

"Massey said earlier Kiffin was the greatest coach he'd ever seen," Hampton said. "That was great to get that news from a couple of players that had a great relationship with him and loved him."

The news of his death was made public by Ole Miss, where Kiffin's son is the head coach.

Monte Kiffin, 84, peacefully passed away today in Oxford surrounded by family and friends. 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. pic.twitter.com/eM1HT2lGHx

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 11, 2024

The Razorbacks' 1977 team was simply, the best football team in school history (with apologies to the 1964 team). The defense, like the rest of the team, came within a fluke pass to Earl Campbell that led to a 13-9 win by Texas in Fayetteville from possibly winning the national championship.

"It wasn't like we had a bunch of first-round NFL picks," Hampton, who was the only one, said. "That was traceable back to Monte. His ability to motivate was unbelievable."

Kiffin was one of Lou Holtz's first staff picks when he replaced Frank Broyles as the Razorbacks coach in 1977. Kiffin came in and replaced Jimmy Johnson, who was very popular with the defensive players who wanted him to get the head-coaching position, which even he admitted years later he wasn't ready for at that time.

"There was no pretense with (Kiffin)," Hampton said. "He wanted everybody to buy in. He came from Nebraska where he had played and coached and the nickname we gave him was Cornstalk Kiffin. We were a bunch of over-achievers on that defense and played with a chip on our shoulder."

After the Hogs for a few years, Kiffin went to North Carolina State to replace Bo Rein, who had taken the LSU job where he tragically died in a plane crash before ever coaching a game.

"I was doing a radio show in Chicago 10 years ago or so and got him on," Hampton said. "You could tell, though, the Razorbacks always held a special spot for Kiffin."

Going into that famed Orange Bowl game, the Sooners were on a roll. Arkansas had kicked key offensive players out of the bowl game and another was injured at the first practice before even leaving for Miami.

"Instead of playing our standard defense, Monte had this idea," Hampton said. "He had Reggie Freeman, a noseguard that was a fifth-year guy, playing in a stand-up position. They kicked me and Jimmy Walker from out on the tackles down on the guards.

"Reggie was tracking Sooners quarterback, Thomas Lott, and was stopping him when he kept on that wishbone option. It was just enough technical change by Kiffin that Oklahoma had never seen before. We went into that game with a totally different defense than we had shown all year. They never figured it out."

Yes, Kiffin had a special connection to the Razorbacks on a team that could have won a national championship in that first year. With one loss after the bowl games, they had as good of a claim as anyone and finished No. 3 in the final polls behind Notre Dame and Alabama.

A big part of that was a defense Kiffin put together in a short time.
"We loved him," Hampton said.

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