Monte Kiffin, Legendary Coordinator and Father of Lane Kiffin, Dies at 84

A defensive guru and the father of the Tampa 2, Kiffin was 84 years old.

Jul 14, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is entered into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Ring of Honor at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Monte Kiffin, a longtime groundbreaking NFL and college football defensive coordinator, died at 84 years old on Thursday. The University of Mississippi announced that he paced away peacefully surrounded by family and friends.

Kiffin, the father of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, had last worked as a player personnel analyst for the Rebels from 2020 to '23.

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

Kiffin began coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Nebraska, in 1966. He spent the next 58 years around the game coaching at the NFL and college levels. He won two national championships as a defensive coach for the Cornhuskers in 1970 and '71.

Kiffin was the father of the Tampa 2 defense, which he deployed most famously during a stint as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 through 2008. The Buccaneers regularly had top defenses under Kiffin, and his unit led the way to a Super Bowl XXXVII win. He was eventually inducted into the Buccaneers' Ring of Honor in 2021.

After leaving Tampa Bay, Kiffin was defensive coordinator under his son Lane at Tennessee (2009) and USC (2010-12), before returning to the NFL as defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys in 2013. A stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars followed in 2016, then he worked under Lane again as an assistant at Florida Atlanta (2017-19) and Ole Miss. Kiffin's younger son, Chris, is the linebackers coach for the Houston Texans.

Despite his years of success as a coordinator, Kiffin only spent three seasons as a head coach. He led N.C. State to a 16-17 record (8-10 in the ACC) from 1980 through the 1982 season. He remained an assistant and coordinator for the remainder of his career.

Monte Kiffin's innovations changed football. The game lost a legend on Thursday.