Monte Kiffin, a former USC defensive coordinator and longtime NFL assistant coach whose Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense consistently ranked among the league’s best, died Thursday. He was 84.
Kiffin, one of the architects of Tampa Bay’s successful No. 2 defensive scheme, spent 13 seasons as Busc’s defensive coordinator under former coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden from 1996 to 2008, helping the franchise win its first two Super Bowl titles.
Two years later, when his son Lane Kiffin was hired as USC’s head coach, Monte Kiffin took over as the Trojans’ defensive coordinator, a position he held for three seasons.
The Mississippi football program announced on its social media platform that Kiffin, once the head coach at North Carolina State, died surrounded by family and friends in Oxford, Mississippi, where Lane Kiffin coached the Rebels.
“As a coach, Monte was a true innovator who brought out the best in his players and helped create one of the signature defenses of the early 2000s,” the Glazer family, which owns the Buccaneers and inducted Kiffin into the team’s Hall of Fame a year ago, said in the statement.
“His passionate and energetic leadership style resonated with all of his players, and he was instrumental in our first Super Bowl victory and the success of Hall of Famers like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Rond Barber,” Glazers added. “Off the field, Monte was kind, genuine, friendly and always had a positive attitude. He was very special to the Buccaneers organization and our family.”
Sapp was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1999, and Brooks earned the honor in 2002, when Tampa Bay had the league’s best defense and the Oakland Raiders were dominating the Super Bowl.
During his tenure with the Bucs, Tampa Bay’s defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed per game (17½), ranked second in yards allowed per game (293) and yards per game (286.8), third in interceptions (249) and in bags of 10 (503).
Led by Brooks, Sapp, Lynch, Barber and Simeon Rice, the 2002 Bucs defense became the first unit since the 1985 Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears to lead the league in fewest points allowed (196), yards per game (252.8), and games (31) in the same season.
In a career spanning more than five decades, Kiffin also served as an NFL assistant for the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys.
After leaving the Bucs, he worked primarily for his son Lane. In addition to USC, he also made college stops at Tennessee, Florida Atlantic and Mississippi.
