Report: Dallas Cowboys Closing in on Hiring Monte Kiffin

The Dallas Cowboys fired Rob Ryan on Tuesday and it seems they already had someone in mind at the time. According to numerous reports, the Cowboys are making a serious play to hire legendary former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Kiffin made his name in Tampa, creating the now widely used ‘Tampa 2’ defense and heading up unit that is regarded as one of the best in NFL history. Kiffin was came aboard with the Buccaneers in 1996 when Tony Dungy was hired, winning a Super Bowl there in 2002 and leaving in the middle of the 2008 season.

He drew the ire of Bucs fans for leaving the way he did, as the team didn’t win another game in the 2008 season after he left and Jon Gruden was soon fired after Kiffin left. From Tampa, Kiffin joined his son Lane Kiffin’s staff at the University of Tennessee and eventually followed him to USC that following year.

There have been reports that the Cowboys are planning to switch to a 4-3 defense and if Kiffin is hired, that’s the exact scheme they’d move to.

Andy Reid wanted to get Kiffin on his staff in Kansas City but Kiffin turned down that opportunity. That raises the question of whether or not the Cowboy shave what it takes to lure in Kiffin, who might want to try his hand as a head coach in the NFL before his career is said and done. But if there is one thing that Jerry Jones has over all other owners in the NFL it’s money and Kiffin might be able to cash in big in Dallas.

There could be the prospect of possibly succeeding Jason Garrett as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. That might not be a reality, but just the possibility of becoming the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys could entice him.

Nothing is official, and it’s not known if the Cowboys have actually offered Kiffin the job yet, but the great creator of the ‘Tampa 2’ could be close to making a triumphant return to the NFL.