The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Elder Kiffin mentors at FAU
Owls soak in wisdom of ‘Tampa Cover 2’ defensive legend.
BOCA RATON, FLA . — Watching his son field questions from old and new fans alike, Monte Kiffin’s eyes shine with pride.
On a Tuesday night in late June, the elder Kiffin has joined other coaches on his son Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic staff at FAU Stadium for the second of three Coaches’ Caravan events. Behind his oldest son, Monte Kiffin is the most recognizable coach in attendance, signing miniature helmets and telling tales of his NFL coaching days.
At 77 years old, the man many consider one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time should be comfortably in retirement, advising his sons — new FAU coach Lane and defensive coordinator Chris — after a coaching career that has spanned a half-century.
Kiffin served 26 years as an NFL assistant, with his units ranking in the top 10 in points and yards allowed a record 10 times during that period. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003 using his widely imitated “Tampa Cover 2” defense, and his influence on defensive coaches at the pro and college level is legendary.
Now 52 years removed from his last snap as a player in the Canadian Football League, Kiffin is still in the game, coaching alongside his children. Officially, his title is defensive analyst and NFL liaison. Kiffin has turned the opportunity into something more: a chance to spread his knowledge and experience to another generation.
“He doesn’t coach scheme or anything with (the players); he’s more off the field in a mentor role and talking to (the players) in general about football,” Lane Kiffin, who since taking over the program in January has not allowed his assistants to speak to the media, explained during spring camp. “It’s great for our coaches, too, because he can’t coach our players really schematically, but he can coach our coaches.”
Kiffin, who joined his son’s staff in March, brings a level of expertise that is unparalleled to Florida Atlantic — a school that was still a year away from opening as the first public university in southeast Florida when he graduated from Nebraska in 1963.
And while Kiffin is not as close in age to his players as some of the other Owls coaches, that hasn’t stopped his newest students from paying attention.
“He’s an all-time great, and it gives you a lot of confidence knowing that you have the best here,” junior safety Jalen Young said during spring camp. “In the film room and meeting rooms, I’ve gotten to pick his brain a bit. He gives a lot of information on our techniques and what we should be doing.”
Young refers to Kiffin as the G.O.A.T. — an acronym for the Greatest of All Time — while transfer quarterback De’Andre Johnson has affectionately referred to him as “The Godfather.”
Primarily working with defensive backs like Young and junior Andrew Soroh, Kiffin bridges the generation gap by showing video of current NFL players to Owls defenders; Kam Chancellor, the All-Pro safety for the Seattle Seahawks, has been a common choice. Chancellor’s head coach, Pete Carroll, was Kiffin’s defensive coordinator at North Carolina State in the early 1980s.
Many FAU players may be too young to completely understand the impact Kiffin has had on the game, but that does not keep them from being appreciative of the opportunity to learn from him.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to work with (Lane and Monte Kiffin),” Soroh said. “They know so much about football, and Monte created the Tampa 2, so it’s like, ‘OK, now we really know how to play this coverage.’ He’s really telling us how to (effectively) play it.”
This is not the first time that Lane and Monte have worked together, with the father serving as his son’s defensive coordinator at Tennessee and USC, but the sound of pride and love in Lane’s voice when discussing his father is indisputable. The two are in this together, as they were when Tennessee fans expressed their outrage after Lane left following just one season to take the USC job, and when, despite sanctions and limited scholarships, the Trojans went 8-5 in the Kiffin duo’s first year.
Lane Kiffin joked at the final Coaches’ Caravan event June 22 that the only reason he hired his father was because his mother, Robin, asked him to.
And no observer will deny that Monte is starting to look his age, with the wrinkles and hunched posture serving as a reminder of how long he’s been around the game. On a hot day during camp, Kiffin will sit under a tent to take shelter from the sun.
But when a fan approaches Kiffin at FAU Stadium, wanting to discuss football, the mind that has helped lead some of the greatest defenses in NFL history reacts accordingly.
Age hasn’t taken away his ability to properly explain the Tampa Cover 2 to a fan, nor has it formed a cultural gap between him and his players.
More than 50 years after taking his final snap, Kiffin still is living for football — and he wouldn’t have it any other way.