Monte Kiffin, one of the most influential defensive coaches in football history, died Thursday, Ole Miss announced. He was 84.
The university said Kiffin was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death in Oxford. The cause of death was not given.
Monte Kiffin, 84, passed away peacefully today in Oxford surrounded by family and friends. As his grandson Knox said, he is pain free and smiling down on us from above.
Please keep the Kiffin family in your thoughts and prayers during this time. image.twitter.com/eM1HT2lGHx
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 11, 2024
Kiffin’s son Lane, currently the head coach of the Ole Miss football team, posted two photos with his father on social media early Thursday, calling him “my hero.”
From 1966 to 2023, Kiffin enjoyed a career that saw him work for eight different NFL teams and seven different college teams, often leading their defenses. In the NFL, he was the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys and, most notably, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was during his 12 years in Tampa Bay that Kiffin and Tony Dungy created the famous “Tampa 2” defense, which would become one of the most imitated defenses of a generation. It certainly paid off for the Buccaneers, who won Super Bowl XXXVII against the Raiders with Kiffin coaching the defense under Jon Gruden.
Kiffin’s career began as a graduate assistant at Nebraska under Bob Devaney, then he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1969. He was part of the Cornhuskers’ undefeated national championship teams in back-to-back seasons in 1970 and 1971, and he was promoted to defensive coordinator when Tom Osborne took over as head coach in 1973.
Kiffin attempted a head coaching job just once in his career, compiling a 16-17 record in three seasons with NC State from 1980 to 1982 before moving to the NFL, where he found continued employment for more than two decades.
Kiffin returned to the college ranks when Lane took over at Tennessee and hired his father as defensive coordinator. That infamous stint lasted just one year, as Lane left for USC the following offseason and took Monte with him as an assistant coach. They also worked together with Monte in smaller roles at Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss.
