After firing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan on Tuesday, the Cowboys have identified their top candidate to replace him: Monte Kiffin.
Kiffin, the guru of the Tampa 2 defense, is the leading candidate in the eyes of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett, ESPN’s Ed Werder reports.
We noted after Ryan was fired that the Cowboys could switch to a base 4-3 defense, and hiring Kiffin would make a lot of sense if that’s what the Cowboys plan to do: Although Kiffin is coming off a disappointing season on his son Lane’s staff at USC, he is still one of the most well-regarded defensive coaches in the NFL, stemming from his 13 seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers.
In fact, the 72-year-old Kiffin is well regarded enough that he has already had offers. According to Werder, new Chiefs coach Andy Reid was interested in hiring Kiffin as the defensive coordinator in Kansas City, but Kiffin wasn’t interested.
It remains to be seen whether Kiffin will be interested in going to Dallas. But after leaving USC he said he wanted to return to the NFL, and it sounds like there’s a coach and owner in Dallas who are ready to welcome him.