Former USC defensive coordinator and longtime NFL assistant coach Monte Kiffin, whose Tampa Bay Buccaneers defenses routinely ranked among the league’s best, died Thursday. He was 84.
One of the architects of the ultra successful Tampa 2 defensive scheme, Kiffin spent 13 seasons as Bucs defensive coordinator under former coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden from 1996 to 2008 and helped the franchise win the first of its 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 the social media platform X that Kiffin, once the head coach at North Carolina State, died surrounded by family and friends in Oxford, Miss., where Lane Kiffin is coach of the Rebels.
“As a coach, Monte was a true innovator who got the best out of 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 Ring of Honor three years ago, said in a statement.
“His passionate and energetic leadership style resonated with all his players, and he was instrumental in our first Super Bowl win and the success of Hall of Famers such as Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber,” the Glazers added. “Off the field, Monte was kind, genuine, gracious and always had a positive attitude. He was very special to the Buccaneers organization and our family.”
Sapp was voted NFL defensive player of the year in 1999 and Brooks earned the honor in 2002, when Tampa Bay had the league’s top-ranked defense and dominated the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl.
During his stint with the Bucs, Tampa Bay’s defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed per game (17½). They ranked second in takeaways (293) and yards allowed per game (286.8), third in interceptions (249) and 10th in sacks (503).
With Brooks, Sapp, Lynch, Barber and Simeon Rice leading the way, 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 allowed per game (252.8), and interceptions (31) in the same season.
In a career that spanned more than five decades, Kiffin also worked as a 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 mostly worked for his son Lane. In addition to USC, he also made college stops at Tennessee, Florida Atlantic and Mississippi.