His son, Lane Kiffin, is the head coach at Ole Miss.
It was Monte Kiffin’s job as a defensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1990s and early 2000s where he built his reputation as one of the NFL’s best defensive minds.
He was not only highly successful in that role, but he helped change the way defense is played in the NFL in a way that few others have.
That sort of impact is the sort of thing that should make him — and other influential coordinators — worthy of the Hall of Fame honors they have never received.
It is not just the fact that Kiffin was the architect of a Super Bowl-winning defense in Tampa Bay in 2003, or that his defenses were consistently among the best in the NFL. It is not just that he helped put six different Buccaneers players on All-Pro rosters or helped four of them (Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Ronde Barber) reach the Hall of Fame.
It is that his defensive philosophy and approach helped fundamentally shift the way defense was played at the highest level.
Along with head coach Tony Dungy, Kiffin helped create the “Tampa 2” defense that was one of the most innovative strategies the league had seen in decades. It put an emphasis on speed or size, created turnovers and helped establish the “bend-but-don’t-break” approach to defense. The “Tampa 2” was a variation of the Cover 2 defensive scheme but would ask the middle linebacker to play deep in coverage to cause havoc in the middle of the field. It helped eliminate big plays and made life extremely difficult for teams trying to play from behind because they could also take part in lengthy, clock-crushing drives.
The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts both played versions of the “Tampa 2” when they played in the 2006 Super Bowl, just a couple of years after the Buccaneers used it.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame does not really consider coordinators for induction, a practice that needs to come to an end, especially in extreme cases like this. They can be just as impactful to the game as any head coach, and Kiffin is almost certainly on the Mt. Rushmore of defensive coordinators in NFL history.
Dick LeBeau is on that list for his zone blitz innovations in Pittsburgh, but he already received an induction for his playing days.
Former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan would also be deserving for the “46” defense that helped the 1985 Bears win the Super Bowl with one of the best single-season defensive performances ever.
It takes a lot of different people and skill sets for greatness to happen in the NFL. That includes the work of assistants and coordinators. Few were better than Kiffin when he was at his peak.