Monte Kiffin, N.F.L. Defensive Coaching Mastermind, Dies at 84

Monte Kiffin, a well-traveled college and N.F.L. coach who, during his longest stopover — 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — had his greatest success as the mastermind of a defense that led the team to a Super Bowl victory, died on Thursday in Oxford, Miss. He was 84.

His death, in an assisted-living facility, was confirmed by his daughter, Heidi Kiffin, who said the family did not know the cause.

Kiffin was a fiery, gruff and humorous personality who was devoted to two things: football and family. “I don’t have any hobbies,” he told The St. Petersburg Times in 2003. “I don’t hunt. I don’t fish. I don’t golf.”

Over nearly 60 years, he held coaching positions with eight N.FL. teams and seven college teams. He was a defensive assistant or coordinator for all but one: For three seasons in the early 1980s, he was the head coach at North Carolina State, resigning under pressure after compiling a 16-17 record.

When Tony Dungy, the new head coach of the Buccaneers, hired Kiffin as his defensive coordinator in 1996, they were acquainted from their time on the coaching staff of the Minnesota Vikings. Dungy had beenn named defensive coordinator, replacing Kiffin, who became the linebackers coach.

Under Dungy and Jon Gruden, who succeeded Dungy as Tampa Bay’s head coach in 2002, Kiffin transformed the Buccaneers’ defense into a fearsome, fast and opportunistic unit that featured four future Hall of Famers: the linebacker Derrick Brooks, the defensive tackle Warren Sapp and the defensive backs John Lynch and Ronde Barber.