Father of the widely imitated "Tampa 2" defense, Kiffin's concepts are among the most influential in modern college and pro football.

[2] Later in his career, he worked with his son Lane, who has served as the head coach of several major college programs.

Kiffin earned a reported $2 million annual salary during his time with Buccaneers and turned down several NFL head coaching jobs during his career.

After his time at NC State, Kiffin began a series of short stints in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings (twice), New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints.

[3] After Tony Dungy was dismissed by the Buccaneer front office following the 2001 season, Kiffin was persuaded by incoming head coach Jon Gruden to remain in Tampa and continue to run his defense.

With the seamless transition on defense allowing the new coaching staff to focus intently on a more potent offensive philosophy, the result was an immediate balance between offense and defense that carried the Buccaneers to the organization's first championship in Super Bowl XXXVII on January 26, 2003, in San Diego, California.

His younger son, Chris, played football at Colorado State and was most recently the linebackers coach for the Houston Texans.