Report: Dallas Cowboys Hire Monte Kiffin as Defensive Coordinator

Earlier this week it was reported that the Dallas Cowboys were flirting pretty hard with ex-Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Those reports turned out to be true, as the Cowboys have hired Kiffin to be Rob Ryan’s replacement as defensive coordinator in Dallas.

Kiffin is expected to come in and transform the Cowboys defense into a 4-3 scheme and model his new defense after his legendary Tampa-2 style he created while still with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Cowboys fans everywhere are already high on the hire, one that scouting director and Cowboys fixture Larry Lacewell calls a “coup”.

“Frankly, I think it’s the best hire the Cowboys have ever made,” Lacewell said. “Well, other than Jimmy [Johnson]. To fall into Monte Kiffin is just a gift. To pull this off is just a coup. Whoever thought of this was real smart.”

Kiffin has spent the last three years out of the NFL and with his son Lane Kiffin at both Tennessee and USC. He last coached in the NFL back in 2008 with the Buccaneers, before controversially leaving in the middle of the season to join his son’s staff up in Tennessee. But Kiffin is back in the NFL now, and he’s looking to return to his glory days where he was the mastermind of one of the greatest defenses in NFL history.

He’s got similar tools as well, with guys like Demarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne to name a few.

There’s also something else the Cowboys notice Kiffin has that they want very badly: a Super Bowl ring. Kiffin’s ace defense during the 2002 season in Tampa helped secure the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl berth and victory. Dallas has had plenty of winning in the history, but not recently. Jerry Jones is hoping Kiffin is the guy that can turn it around, and if Jason Garrett struggles, we may see Kiffin conveniently fall into the role of head coach.