Former Bucs defensive coordinator and Ring of Honor Inductee Monte Kiffin passed away today according to a post from the X (formerly Twitter) account for Ole Miss Football.
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 served as defensive coordinator for the Bucs from 1996 to 2008 under two different head coaches. He is the longest-tenured head coach in Tampa Bay history at 13 seasons. The Bucs inducted him into their Ring of Honor in 2021 and he received the Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence just last month. Leading up to his Ring of Honor induction Bucs owner and co-chairman Bryan Glazer said of him, “Monte Kiffin’s contributions to building and sustaining one of the most dominant defenses in NFL history were crucial to our franchise’s most successful era. Monte worked closely with Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden using his signature defense that became the team’s identity and was a key part of winning the Super Bowl. He was an outstanding coach, teacher and leader who consistently got the best out of his players and we eagerly anticipate welcoming him into our Ring of Honor this upcoming season.”
The defensive wizard helped usher in a long-overdue culture of winning to Tampa Bay in the late 90’s and early 2000’s with his vaunted “Tampa-2” defense that helped spur the careers of several players including future Hall of Famer’s Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber.
Following his time with the Bucs Kiffin followed his son Lane to the University of Tennessee to serve as defensive coordinator for the younger Kiffin who had been named head coach of the Volunteers. He would follow his son to the University of Southern California a year later before heading back to the NFL in 2013 and 2014 as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for defense, respectively, for the Dallas Cowboys.
Kiffin’s lasting impact in the NFL will continue for decades to come in the cover-2 style defense that served as his hallmark that became affectionately
known as the “Tampa-2”. For several seasons in the early aughts it was the style of defense most of the NFL tried to implement in attempt to recreate the magic of his Bucs units.
Beyond his schemes and brilliance when it came to “X’s and O’s” Kiffin’s legacy will live on in the relationships he created and fostered with his players and coaches alike. Many current and former NFL coaches can trace their roots back to Kiffin. But a few of those names are Raheem Morris, Mike Tomlin, Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli, Herm Edwards and Gus Bradley. In addition to his coaching proteges, both his sons have become coaches with Lane now the head coach of Ole Miss and younger son Billy having served with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans.
Kiffin was 84 and leaves behind his wife Robin, his two sons and three grandchildren.
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At Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, Sunday’s final round of the 2025 Wyndham Championship closed out the PGA Tour’s regular season. It also marked the end of an era for one of golf’s most revered broadcasters. For the last time, Ian Baker-Finch manned the hole-announcing microphone for CBS Sports, capping 30 years in the booth following a playing career that peaked with his victory at the 1991 Open Championship. Before the day was over, Tiger Woods took to X to salute "Finchy." "Congrats Finchy for 30 incredible years behind the microphone. You brought insight into things that the viewing audience could understand and relate to. From all of us—thanks for the memories." The message joined tributes from Jack Nicklaus, Jason Day, Adam Scott and others, underscoring Baker-Finch’s standing among champions past and present. Ian Baker-Finch: From Major Champion to Broadcast Mainstay Baker-Finch turned pro in 1979, winning 17 professional tournaments worldwide. His lone major title came at Royal Birkdale in 1991, where he secured the Open Championship by five strokes. After retiring in the mid-1990s, Baker-Finch transitioned smoothly into broadcasting. He cut his teeth as an analyst on Australian television before joining ESPN and ABC in 1998. In 2007, he became CBS Sports’ dedicated hole announcer, a role he held through 2025, calling golf’s defining moments with a blend of technical acumen and warm delivery. Over 19 seasons with CBS, he covered five Masters and contributed to countless PGA Tour telecasts. Throughout Woods’ five green-jacket haul (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019), Baker-Finch was a trusted on-course voice that helped demystify championship golf for television audiences. As a player, Baker-Finch remains one of only seven Australian men to win a major championship and is one of a select few to dominate links golf on British soil. As a broadcaster, Baker-Finch’s voice guided generations of fans through golf’s signature moments, shaping how millions understand the game’s subtleties. When the G.O.A.T. of professional golf uses his platform to honor your contribution to the sport, it signals a broadcast career worth remembering.
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