Former Florida Atlantic football defensive assistant Monte Kiffin died Thursday according to a media release from the University of Mississippi.
Kiffin, 84, died surrounded by family in Oxford, Mississippi according to a social media post from the official Ole Miss football social media account.
“As his grandson Knox said, he’s free of pain and smiling down on us from above,” per the post. “Please keep the Kiffin family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.”
Kiffin served as a defensive analyst and pro liaison while his son Lane Kiffin was FAU football’s head coach from 2017-19.
The Owls enjoyed unprecedented success in the Kiffin era with double digit-win seasons in 2017 and 2019. The Owls were 26-13 overall under Kiffin, the best 3-year stretch in program history.
Notable defensive players from Kiffin’s tenure include Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and Palm Beach Lakes graduate Teja Young, who later followed Kiffin to Ole Miss for his final season of college eligibility in 2023.
Members of the FAU athletics community mourned Kiffin’s death on social media Thursday evening.
Ken LaVicka, lead play-by-play broadcaster for FAU football and men’s basketball, posted condolences on his X account: “knowing and spending quality time with monte kiffin was one of the great pleasures of my adult life.”
Monte Kiffin Tampa 2
Monte Kiffin is regarded as one of the most influential defensive coaches in college and professional football history.
The father of the “Tampa 2” defense, Kiffin was an NFL defensive assistant from 1983-2008 with numerous top professional franchises.
He helped lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Super Bowl XXXVII victory in 2003 as defensive coordinator of a fearsome defense which featured future Pro Football Hall of Famers like Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Ronde Barber.
Kiffin was later inducted into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor.
Prior to his FAU stint, Monte Kiffin had most recently served as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for defense with the Dallas Cowboys (2013-14) and as a defensive assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2016) before joining his son’s staff in Boca Raton.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Former FAU football coach Monte Kiffin dies at 84
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