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Monte Kiffin dies: Fans pay tribute to the defensive football mastermind

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For The Win (usatoday.com) 

One of the greatest defensive minds to ever coach in football has died.

Monte Kiffin, the longtime defensive coach who pioneered the cover 2 defense, died on Thursday in Oxford, Mississippi, at the age of 84, Ole Miss confirmed on Twitter (X).

The father of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, Monte Kiffin was the defensive coordinator for the all-time Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that helped win a Super Bowl in 2002. He is a member of that team’s Ring of Honor.

That iconic defensive coaching staff featured future NFL head coaches like Mike Tomlin and Raheem Morris and future coordinator Joe Barry.

Monte Kiffin started his career as a graduate assistant at Nebraska in 1966 after a brief professional football career and assumed defensive coordinator duties for the Cornhuskers from 1969-76. He helped the school win two national titles in 1970 and 1971.

He briefly worked at North Carolina State as its head coach from 1980-82 before making his first leap into the NFL as the Green Bay Linebackers linebackers coach for a season in 1983.

After bouncing around in various roles around the NFL, his stint with the Buccaneers as their defensive coordinator from 1996-2008 established him as one of the all-time defensive minds in the game.

His impressive NFL coaching tree includes Tomlin, Morris, Herm Edwards, Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli and Gus Bradley, per the The Dallas Morning News.

After leaving Tampa Bay in 2008, Monte Kiffin went between college football and the NFL as a defensive coach, including a brief coordinator stint with the Dallas Cowboys.

He also spent a good amount of time with his son, Lane Kiffin, as one of his assistant coaches. The veteran coach closed out his career from 2020-23 as a player personnel analyst with Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss.

Lane Kiffin offered a tribute to his father on Thursday, calling him his “hero.”

Fans and the football community paid tribute to Kiffin, who had an undeniable and permanent impact on the sport of football.