Social media reacts to death of legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, pioneer of 'Tampa 2' defense

Monte Kiffin died on Thursday, the Ole Miss football program announced.

Monte Kiffin ― the father of Rebels' football coach Lane Kiffin ― was a longtime college and NFL coach. Kiffin, 84 when he died, began coaching at his alma mater, Nebraska, in 1966. Known as one of the better defensive minds in football, Monte Kiffin pioneered the "Tampa 2" defense to garner fame. He worked for seven universities and seven NFL organizations during his career.

REQUIRED READING:Monte Kiffin, distinguished defensive coach and father of Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin, dies at 84

The elder Kiffin served as the defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl in XXXVII. The Bucs allowed just 12.3 points per game, which was best in the NFL. Monte Kiffin was inducted into the Tampa Bay Ring of Honor in 2021.

He joined Lane's staff at Tennessee and then worked at USC, FAU, and Ole Miss as an analyst on his son's teams.

Here are social media reactions to the death of Monte Kiffin on Thursday:

Social media reacts to death of Monte Kiffin

The Buccaneers said in a statement, in part:

"Kiffin, a key architect of the renowned ‘Tampa 2’ defensive scheme, worked under the leadership of head coaches Tony Dungy (1996-2001) and Jon Gruden (2002-08). During his tenure, Kiffin’s defensive units were consistently among the best in the NFL, ranking in the top 10 in yards allowed 11 times and in points allowed 12 times. During his stint as defensive coordinator, Tampa Bay’s defense led the league in points allowed per game (17.5), ranked second in takeaways (293) and yards allowed per game (286.8), third in interceptions (249), and 10th in total sacks (503)."