Former Bucs DC Monte Kiffin Passes Away

Former Bucs defensive coordinator and Ring of Honor Inductee Monte Kiffin passed away today according to a post from the X (formerly Twitter) account for Ole Miss Football.

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

Bucs Ring of Honor DC Monte Kiffin – Photo by: USA Today

Kiffin served as defensive coordinator for the Bucs from 1996 to 2008 under two different head coaches. He is the longest-tenured head coach in Tampa Bay history at 13 seasons. The Bucs inducted him into their Ring of Honor in 2021 and he received the Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence just last month. Leading up to his Ring of Honor induction Bucs owner and co-chairman Bryan Glazer said of him, “Monte Kiffin’s contributions to building and sustaining one of the most dominant defenses in NFL history were crucial to our franchise’s most successful era.

Monte worked closely with Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden using his signature defense that became the team’s identity and was a key part of winning the Super Bowl. He was an outstanding coach, teacher and leader who consistently got the best out of his players and we eagerly anticipate welcoming him into our Ring of Honor this upcoming season.”

The defensive wizard helped usher in a long-overdue culture of winning to Tampa Bay in the late 90’s and early 2000’s with his vaunted “Tampa-2” defense that helped spur the careers of several players including future Hall of Famer’s Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber.

Following his time with the Bucs Kiffin followed his son Lane to the University of Tennessee to serve as defensive coordinator for the younger Kiffin who had been named head coach of the Volunteers. He would follow his son to the University of Southern California a year later before heading back to the NFL in 2013 and 2014 as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for defense, respectively, for the Dallas Cowboys.

Former Bucs DBs coach Raheem Morris and DC Monte Kiffin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs DC Monte Kiffin’s Legacy

Kiffin’s lasting impact in the NFL will continue for decades to come in the cover-2 style defense that served as his hallmark that became affectionately known as the “Tampa-2”. For several seasons in the early aughts it was the style of defense that most of the NFL tried to implement in attempt to recreate the magic of his Bucs units.

Beyond his schemes and brilliance when it came to “X’s and O’s” Kiffin’s legacy will live on in the relationships he created and fostered with several of his players and coaches alike. Many current and former NFL coaches can trace their roots back to Kiffin. But a few of those names are Raheem Morris, Mike Tomlin, Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli, Herm Edwards and Gus Bradley. In addition to his coaching proteges, both of his sons have become coaches with Lane now the head coach of Ole Miss and younger son Billy having served with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans.

Kiffin was 84 and leaves behind his wife Robin, his two sons and three grandchildren.