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Monte Kiffin passed away at the age of 84 on Thursday, Ole Miss has announced.
Kiffin, the father of current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, had a coaching career that spanned decades in both college football and in the NFL. He was an analyst at Ole Miss as recently as the 2023 season. He also worked under Lane at Florida Atlantic, USC and Tennessee.
Monte Kiffin, 84, peacefully passed away today in Oxford surrounded by family and friends. As his grandson Knox said, he’s free of pain and smiling down on us from above.
Please keep the Kiffin family in your thoughts and prayers during this time. pic.twitter.com/eM1HT2lGHx
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 11, 2024
Kiffin’s coaching career began back in 1966 when he was a graduate assistant at Nebraska. Within a few years, he was elevated to defensive coordinator at Nebraska and served in that role under legendary Nebraska coach Tom Osborne. Kiffin was the program’s defensive coordinator for its 1970 and 1971 national championships. Kiffin was also Arkansas’ defensive coordinator before taking over as NC State’s head coach in 1982.
After parting ways with NC State, Kiffin began his NFL coaching career with the Green Bay Packers as their linebackers coach in 1983. Over the next couple decades, Kiffin was a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator for several NFL franchises.
His longest stint came with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as he served as their defensive coordinator 1996-2008. With the Bucs, Kiffin became known for the “Tampa 2” defense and helped lead the franchise to a win in Super Bowl XXXVII. He’s a member of the Buccaneers’ Ring-of-Honor.
Earlier this year, Kiffin received the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence, which is given to “significant contributors” to the game of football:
Congratulations to former #Vikings assistant coach Monte Kiffin on receiving the @ProFootballHOF‘s Awards of Excellence.
The honor was created in 2022 to recognize significant contributors to the game. pic.twitter.com/xBi3yuFeys
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) June 28, 2024
Lane shared this message on Thursday morning:
My Hero ♥️ @NCStateFB @Vikings pic.twitter.com/gHPAbrUQF1
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) July 11, 2024
Shortly after the news of Kiffin’s passing was announced, tributes to him began to appear on social media. Here’s a sampling of the stories and kind words shared in Kiffin’s honor:
Monte Kiffin is famed for his work as a defensive coordinator — especially with the legendary 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In my dealings with him, he was always a colorful, interesting and insightful interview. https://t.co/GWNOvAQHLy
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) July 11, 2024
Said day for those of us that love defense. This man is on the Mt. Rushmore of defensive coordinators. RIP Monte Kiffin. https://t.co/pYibhZfkRg
— Matt The Dogg (@Matthew_Gaskin) July 11, 2024
Kyle Shanahan would sit on the floor and learn defense from Monte Kiffin and the other Buccaneers coaches when he began his career.
“They would always give me all their tip sheets and help me out with everything. That’s what really helped me understand defense…” https://t.co/rXEJjTrsrU
— Gold Standard 49ers Podcast Network (@GSN49ers) July 11, 2024
Condolences to the family, friends & former players of Monte Kiffin who passed away at the age of 84. Monte spent one season when the Jets on Bruce Coslet’s first staff in 1990 before returning to Minnesota to take over as DC in 1991. pic.twitter.com/S3KArhY8Rs
— New York Jets History (@nyjetshistory) July 11, 2024
Monte Kiffin was on Jags staff in Gus Bradley era – we did a podcast talking everything from time in college at Nebraska (“The N stood for knowledge…”) to following Lane at head coaching stops (“We just got here!”) and of course defense. Class act. Condolences to Kiffin family https://t.co/rlNZvecbC0
— J.P. Shadrick (@jpshadrick) July 11, 2024
We would frequently see Monte Kiffin riding around Ole Miss practices in a golf cart. Occasionally (usually at the very start of a given season) he would hop out and chat with a few of us media people who were there. He was positively delightful. https://t.co/Hx5eiu0D0m
— Michael Katz (@MichaelLKatz) July 11, 2024
Monte Kiffin was a gem. The love he had for his @FAUFootball players during his three years in Boca was amazing. Players loved him back. De’’Andre Johnson called Monte the “Godfather.” The football world lost an incredible man today!! pic.twitter.com/8wTSyX841s
— Jake Elman (@JakeElman97) July 11, 2024
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
