- Monte Kiffin
-
Monte Kiffin 
Sport(s) Football Current position Title Assistant head coach Team USC Conference Pac-12 Biographical details Born February 29, 1940 Place of birth Lexington, Nebraska Playing career 1959–1963
1965Nebraska
Winnipeg Blue BombersPosition(s) Lineman Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1966–1972
1973–1976
1977–1978
1979
1980–1982
1983
1984–1985
1986–1989
1990
1991
1992–1994
1995
1996–2008
2009
2010–presentNebraska (GA)
Nebraska (DC)
Arkansas (DC)
Arkansas (Assistant HC/DC)
North Carolina State
Green Bay Packers (LB)
Buffalo Bills (LB)
Minnesota Vikings (LB)
New York Jets (LB)
Minnesota Vikings (DC)
Minnesota Vikings (LB)
New Orleans Saints (DC)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (DC)
Tennessee (DC)
USC (DC)Head coaching record Overall 16–17 Statistics College Football Data Warehouse Monte Kiffin (born February 29, 1940) is an American football coach. He is widely considered to be one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern football,[1] as well as one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history.[2] Father of the widely imitated “Tampa Cover 2” defense, Kiffin's philosophy is one of the most influential in modern college and pro football.[3]
He currently serves as assistant head coach for the USC Trojans football program, where his son Lane Kiffin was named head coach on January 12, 2010.[4] He previously served 26 years as an NFL assistant coach, including 13 years as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His defensive units have finished ranked in the top 10 in points allowed and yards allowed 10 times during that period, an NFL record.[1]
Kiffin was paid about $1.2 million per year by Tennessee,[5] which made him the highest paid assistant coach in college football. He earned a reported $2 million annual salary from the Buccaneers[5] and has turned down several NFL head coaching jobs during his career.[2] To this day, Kiffin's only head coaching job was at North Carolina State University from 1980 to 82.
Contents
Career
Kiffin is a native of Lexington, Nebraska. From 1959 to 1963, Kiffin was an offensive and defensive tackle at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In 1966 he played 8 games with the Toronto Rifles of the Continental Football League and also was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the same league. After a brief stint as a defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Kiffin returned to Nebraska as a defensive coach. Kiffin was the defensive coordinator at Nebraska under legendary coach, Bob Devaney. He coached the defenses of Nebraska's 1970 and 1971 back-to-back undefeated national champion teams. After then offensive coordinator Tom Osborne was selected as the head coach in 1973, Monte stayed as the defensive coordinator for four years. In 1977, he moved to the University of Arkansas, and then in 1980, he got his one and only head coaching job at North Carolina State University.
Kiffin then began a series of short stints in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings (twice), New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints. In 1996, he became the defensive coordinator for the Bucs.[6]
After Tony Dungy was dismissed by the Buccaneer front office following the 2001 season, Kiffin was persuaded by incoming head coach Jon Gruden to remain in Tampa and continue to run his defense. Kiffin had been interviewed for a head coaching position with the San Francisco 49ers. With the seamless transition on defense allowing the new coaching staff to focus intently on a more potent offensive philosophy, the result was an immediate balance between offense and defense that carried the Buccaneers to the organization's first championship in Super Bowl XXXVII on January 26, 2003 in San Diego, California.
Controversy has surrounded Kiffin's departure from Tampa Bay. After Lane Kiffin signed with Tennessee, Tampa's typically stout defense underperformed. The Bucs lost their final four games of the 2008 season, ending up 9–7, and missed the playoffs. Before this, no NFL team had ever missed the playoffs after achieving a record of 9–3. Reports stated that Gruden refused to allow Kiffin to announce his departure to Tennessee mid-season. Allegations were made that Kiffin refused to participate in normal coaching meetings. Neither Kiffin nor Jon Gruden have openly discussed these events.
Monte joined the University of Southern California coaching staff as defensive coordinator, after his son Lane Kiffin became the head coach.[7]
Defensive philosophy
Monte Kiffin is the mastermind behind the Tampa 2 scheme, which is a slight modification of Tony Dungy's Cover 2. His defensive philosophy has several hallmarks.
- Speed over size and strength. Coordinators that employ Kiffin-style defenses will often replace linebackers with safeties in order to put more speed on the field, an approach known as spinning down. In particular, linebackers must be able to cover receivers; in the Tampa 2 scheme, one linebacker frequently drops back deep into coverage, turning what looks like a Cover 2 defense into a Cover 3. Kiffin's defenses also employ large but quick defensive/nose tackles as run-stoppers.
- Preventing scores over preventing yardage. A Kiffin coordinator doesn't care how many yards an offense gains, as long as the team doesn't score, an approach known as bend-but-don't-break.
- Multiple defenses from one look. Kiffin-style defenses try to use the same personnel (or the same kind of personnel) at all times, so that the offense cannot adjust its play call based on the alignment of the defensive personnel.
- Attacking and causing turnovers. Kiffin-style defenses focus on getting the ball away from the offense by stripping the ball away from the ball carrier or reading the quarterback to make an interception. The risk is that if the ball is not stripped or intercepted, then the ball carrier on offense has a better chance of gaining more yards or scoring; the reward is that the offensive drive is stopped without a score more often, frequently giving good field position.
Head coaching record
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs NC State Wolfpack (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1980–1982) 1980 NC State 6–5 3–3 3rd 1981 NC State 4–7 2–4 5th 1982 NC State 6–5 3–3 T–3rd NC State: 16–17 8–10 Total: 16–17 References
- ^ a b Cummings, Roy (2008-12-14). "Kiffin Confirms He's Leaving Bucs For Tennessee". The Tampa Tribune. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/14/kiffin-confirms-hes-leaving-bucs/.
- ^ a b Mullen, Bryan (2008-12-15). "Kiffin's dad enjoys sterling reputation". The Tennessean. http://tennessean.com/article/20081225/SPORTS0601/812250337/1002/SPORTS.
- ^ Shelton, Gary (2008-12-28). "Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is worthy of fame". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/article950448.ece.
- ^ ESPN.com: Kiffin named Vols coach after school's first national search
- ^ a b New football staff costs UT more than $5.3M
- ^ http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/kiffin_monte00.html
- ^ Evans, Thayer (2010-01-13). "USC Football: Kiffin, on the move, is a man of Troy". San Francisco Chronicle. The New York Times. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/13/SPVJ1BHD27.DTL. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
Further reading
- Shelton, Gary (August 18, 2009). "For former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, it's still game on". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/for-former-tampa-bay-buccaneers-defensive-coordinator-monte-kiffin-its/1028440
External links
Sporting positions Preceded by
Floyd PetersMinnesota Vikings defensive coordinator
1991Succeeded by
Tony DungyPreceded by
Steve SidwellNew Orleans Saints defensive coordinator
1995Succeeded by
Jim HaslettPreceded by
Rusty TillmanTampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator
1996–2008Succeeded by
Jim BatesPreceded by
John ChavisTennessee Volunteers defensive coordinator
2009Succeeded by
Justin WilcoxPreceded by
Rocky SetoUSC Trojans defensive coordinator
2010–presentSucceeded by
IncumbentNC State Wolfpack head football coaches Perrin Busbee (1892) • Bart Gatling (1893–1895) • Perrin Busbee (1896–1897) • W. C. Riddick (1898–1899) • John McGee (1900–1901) • Art Devlin (1902–1903) • Willis Kienholz (1904) • George S. Whitney (1905) • Willie Heston (1906) • Mickey Whitehurst (1907–1908) • Edward Green (1909–1913) • Jack Hegarty (1914–1915) • Brit Patterson (1916) • Harry Hartsell (1917) • Tal Stafford (1918) • Bill Fetzer (1919–1920) • Harry Hartsell (1921–1923) • Buck Shaw (1924) • Gus Tebell (1925–1929) • John Van Liew (1930) • John P. Smith (1931–1933) • Heartley Anderson (1934–1936) • Williams Newton (1937–1943) • Beattie Feathers (1944–1951) • Horace Hendrickson (1952–1953) • Earle Edwards (1954–1970) • Al Michaels (1971) • Lou Holtz (1972–1975) • Bo Rein (1976–1979) • Monte Kiffin (1980–1982) • Tom Reed (1983–1985) • Dick Sheridan (1986–1992) • Mike O'Cain (1993–1999) • Chuck Amato (2000–2006) • Tom O'Brien (2007– )
Nebraska Cornhuskers Football 1970 AP National Champions Joe Blahak | Rich Glover | Willie Harper | Larry Jacobson | Monte Johnson | Jeff Kinney | Bob Newton | Bill Olds | Johnny Rodgers | Jerry Tagge | Keith Wortman
Head Coach Bob Devaney
Coaches Monte Kiffin | Tom Osborne | Warren Powers | Carl SelmerNebraska Cornhuskers Football 1971 Consensus National Champions Joe Blahak | John Dutton | Rich Glover | Willie Harper | David Humm | Larry Jacobson | Monte Johnson | Jeff Kinney | Bill Olds | Johnny Rodgers | Jerry Tagge | Don Westbrook | Keith Wortman
Head Coach Bob Devaney
Coaches Monte Kiffin | Tom Osborne | Warren Powers | Carl Selmer | Jim WaldenCategories:- 1940 births
- Living people
- People from Dawson County, Nebraska
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches
- American football defensive linemen
- American football offensive linemen
- Big 33 Football Classic alumni
- Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
- NC State Wolfpack football coaches
- Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers players
- Minnesota Vikings coaches
- New Orleans Saints coaches
- New York Jets coaches
- Buffalo Bills coaches
- Green Bay Packers coaches
- National Football League defensive coordinators
- Tennessee Volunteers football coaches
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