Photo: TreyMcNeil / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
With Monte Kiffin, what grabs me is that he left behind an idea, not just a career. Born in Lexington, Nebraska, and shaped at the University of Nebraska, he authored the Tampa 2, one of the most imitated defensive schemes in the game. Players fade with their eras, but a man who reshapes how the sport is thought about lives on for decades, and his concepts still echo from college fields to the NFL. He passed in 2024, fittingly born on a leap-year February 29. I am drawn most to figures who bequeath a philosophy, and Kiffin is exactly that rare kind.
Overview
Monte George Kiffin (February 29, 1940 – July 11, 2024) was an American football coach. He is widely considered to have been one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern football, as well as one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history. Father of the widely imitated "Tampa 2" defense, Kiffin's concepts are among the most influential in modern college and pro football.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Monte Kiffin
- Name (Japanese)
- モンテ・キフィン
- Reading
- もんて・きふぃん
- Born
- February 29, 1940 – July 11, 2024
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Dragon
- Origin
- Lexington, Nebraska, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Canadian football player / American football coach / American football player
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
American football coach — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.