Oxford, Miss- Monte Kiffin the small town kid from Lexington who went on to become one of the most influential defensive coaches in NFL history passed away on Thursday at the age of 84. The University of Mississippi made the announcement. Kiffin was credited with creating the Tampa Two defense which helped the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl XXXVII championship. He served as the defensive coordinator of the Bucs from 1996-2008. He also was the defensive coordinator for Minnesota, New Orleans and Dallas. Just last year he was awarded the NFL Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence for his work in the league.
After an all state season, helping Lexington high school to an undefeated season in 1957, Kiffin was an offensive and defensive tackle at Nebraska from 1959 to 1963. After a brief stint in the CFL, he returned to Nebraska in 1966 as a defensive coach. Kiffin was an assistant at NU in 1970 and 1971 during the Huskers’ back-to-back undefeated national championship seasons. After then offensive coordinator Tom Osborne was selected as head coach in 1973, Kiffin was elevated to defensive coordinator in 1974. Three years later 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.
After his time at NC State, Kiffin 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 Buccaneers. Kiffin is a member of the Bucs Ring of honor. Later on in his career he helped his son Lane with his coaching stops at Florida Atlantic, USC, Tennessee, and Ole Miss.
In high school, Kiffin was one of the best athletes in the state. He helped lead the Minutemen to an undefeated season and number one ranking in Class A. He also averaged close to 17ppg during his senior season in basketball. Kiffin was inducted into the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame for his success with his hometown school. His first coaching job was coaching the Lexington 1963 Midget baseball team to the state title.
