Counting Kiffin

A combination of skills and statistic excellence are pre-requisites for the Hall of Fame; being better than most at their position before their career began and those who were their direct peers. Those are for players, but what about coaches?

More specifically what about specialty coaches? Guys who were never head coaches? The usual names associated with Buccaneers and potential representatives in the Hall of Fame include Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Simeon Rice, and John Lynch, but what about Monte Kiffin? Entering his 12^th season as Bucs’ defensive coordinator last year was the first they didn’t finish top 10 under his supervision.

He’s outlasted a head coach and countless offensive coordinators, seen numerous members of his staff head on to bigger and better positions, and out maneuvered two of the best offenses around in two of the three biggest games in recent Buccaneer history; Super Bowl 37 and the 1999 NFC Championship game.

But he’s never been ‘the guy’, does that restrict him? It shouldn’t, not when you consider his fingerprints aren’t embedded with the help of only elite talent, sure having five of the best at their positions at one time helps, but ask the Cleveland Browns if every defensive first round pick works out, then ask Larry Coyer how to make first round defensive talent work.

He’s credited with the Tampa Two, even if the Bucs’ don’t use the exact formula 75% of the time, and this year he’s expanding his mold, reinventing what you expect from the defense of the Bucs. Talk of the 3-4 being mixed in, or a ‘nickel blitz’ with three down lineman, three linebackers, and five defensive backs, youthful linebacker Quincy Black has been doing a lot of blitzing, and while some will blame Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen for the defense’s collapse, and that’s the correct way of doing so, unlike time those two have a face.

They also have eyes, ears, and a mind apiece that they don’t share, despite what some say, the ultimate example of these two caring what Kiffin says? This past April, facing the 64^th pick in the draft, with another sitting four picks away the team had a choice to make; take Sabitino Piscitelli and Quincy Black, or take their top ranked player and hope that Piscitelli dropped to the third round and Black to the fourth. They went the first route, and it seemingly couldn’t be working out better with both players turning the heads of onlookers and coaches alike.

Sapp, Brooks, Lynch; Adams, Black, Piscitelli, don’t look now, but Monte Kiffin has a young core at each level and some free agent tools to play with, knowing Monte he’s going to carve out a masterpiece, the question becomes will a blacksmith be doing the same with his bust in a few years?