OAN Staff James Meyers
1:38 PM – Friday, July 12, 2024
Monte Kiffin, a defensive minded legend who spent over 50 years coaching in college football and the NFL, died on Thursday at the age of 84, Ole Miss announced.
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Kiffin, whose son is Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, died peacefully in Oxford surrounded by family and friends. He has been working as a defensive analyst for his son’s team since 2020.
“As his grandson Knox said, he’s free of pain and smiling down on us from above,” a post from the Ole Miss football team read. “Please keep the Kiffin family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.”
In a heartfelt post, Lane posted two photos of himself during his childhood with his dad with the caption: “My hero” with two heart emojis.
“As his grandson Knox said, he’s free of pain and smiling down on us from above,” the school said in a post to X. “Please keep the Kiffin family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.”
Kiffin spent over 13 seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers In the late 1990s and early 2000s.
His brilliant work with head coach Tony Dungy at the time helped make the “Tampa 2” defensive scheme, which helped the Bucs win the Super Bowl in 2002 and is still used by other teams around the league to this day.
Tampa Bay also posted a heartfelt message on X after the tragic news of his passing.
“Monte Kiffin was a beloved and iconic member of the Buccaneers family, and our entire organization mourns his loss today. 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 Bucs’ statement said.
Kiffin began his career in 1966 as a graduate assistant at Nebraska following his playing career, learning from Hall of Famers Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney. Four years later he landed his first defensive coordinator job, at Nebraska in 1970, and eventually became the head coach at NC State from 1980 to 1982.
From there he moved on to the NFL and became a linebackers coach with the Green Bay Packers in 1983.
After his long tenure with Tampa Bay, Kiffin returned to college football in 2009, joining the Tennessee Volunteers as a defensive coordinator under his head coaching son, Lane, before moving with him to USC in 2010 until 2012.
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