Getty ImagesCowboys coach Jason Garrett lavished praise on his new defensive coordinator today, saying that Monte Kiffin may be the best defensive coach he’s ever been around.
“He’s as good a defensive coordinator as this league has seen in a long, long time,” Garrett said of Kiffin.
Garrett talked about the brief time he spent as a backup quarterback for the Buccaneers in 2004, when he ran the scout-team offense against Kiffin’s defense. Garrett said that Kiffin would rip him if he wasn’t doing enough to test the Bucs’ defense on the practice field, but even when Kiffin was chewing him out, Garrett said, he felt immense respect for the coach.
“We developed a relationship back then,” Garrett said. “My respect level for him is off the charts and we’re really fortunate to have him here to coordinate this defense.”
Garrett also formally introduced Rod Marinelli as the Cowboys’ new defensive line coach today. Marinelli was also a defensive assistant on that 2004 Bucs team, and Garrett called Marinelli, “as impressive a football coach as I’ve ever been around.”
Now we’ll wait and see if the Cowboys’ defense can play well enough to back up Garrett’s confidence in his coaching staff.
Channel Finder
Dick lebeau is somewhere laughing hysterically!
Now the dynamic has changed in the Garrett-Kiffin relationship. Monte is still a D.C., but Jason has graduated to backup head coach to Jerry Jones.
Garrett must have gone to the Jerry Jones school of media commenting.
I’ve followed the Bucs very closely over the last 35 years and Rod Marinelli is one helluva D-line coach. And if Monte has any gas left in the tank, the Cowgirls will have a tough D in the coming years.
and he added that one of the two is his successor for the 2014 season.
Yeah just like Aikman claims Romo is elite…. LOL
You get this team a ball-hawk of a safety and it’s gonna be scary reminiscent of that Champion Bucs defense. The offense on the other hand…
I don’t care who is coaching, if no one is healthy and there is no depth, it could be more of the same.
Does Garrett think it’s the year 2003?
bigbenownsthenfl says:
Feb 13, 2013 3:32 PM
Dick lebeau is somewhere laughing hysterically!
————————————————-
I love Dick Lebeau’s resume in the NFL but Kiffin deserves just as much respect. People copied the cover 2 for years because of the work Kiffin did with the Buccaneers.
Kiffin may be a great coach but unfortunately for him he still has the same owner as Garrett, which is just a recipe for failure.
I sure hope he does a better job than he did for USC. Their defense was a joke. Hard to say USC didn’t have players.
Considering the Bucs had a historically bad defense last year, how they didn’t pursue Kiffin and Marinelli is disgraceful.
Monte Kiffin is THE best defensive coordinator ever. Look at his record with the Bucs — that defense was amazing no matter how awful the offense was under Dungy or the offensive “genius” Gruden (and believe me it was horrible under Gruden that worthless piece of garbage).
Even when the team was bad the defense was always excellent.
It’s awful that the Bucs didn’t do everything they could to get Kiffin to come back, I guess our mans man coach Schiano wants to prove to everyone that he doesn’t need anyone that didn’t coach for him at that college football power house Reuters.
Thats what the PAC-10 thought too….
Do we laugh?
He’s just too old. Time to hang it up.
what about the late jim johnson?
Last memory of Monte Kiffin’s defense was Jamarus Russell ripping it apart and Mike Bush running all over it. It was a beautiful day in Raider Nation in 2008.
Is that why his own son fired him? Because he was the best? USC’s defense looked real great….
I’m just wonodering if he is a good fit for the cowboys.. doesn’t this guy run a 4-3 tampa 2 defense? I may be wrong..
Take that, Rob Ryan!
— Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones
Easy Garrett, let’s see what happens when the season starts. This is not 2004 and the NFL offenses have changed a bit since then.
I think you will be the one ripping him a new one this time around.
Chuck Noll/Bud Carson started the cover two – Dungy refined it… Monty Kiffin… pffffttt….
Does this mean we won’t have the offense vs. defense locker room dynamic that has split the team apart for the last 6 years?
Raiderlyfe510 says:
“Last memory of Monte Kiffin’s defense was Jamarus Russell ripping it apart and Mike Bush running all over it. It was a beautiful day in Raider Nation in 2008.”
Yeah, I guess it’s understandable you have suppressed the memories of the Super Bowl when your team could barely manage a first down against Kifin’s D.
Can’t believe I’m saying this, but this Ravens fan agrees… somewhere Dick Lebeau is justifiably laughing at this headline.
Somewhere Buddy Ryan is laughing hysterically!
I never get tired of hearing how great every player and coach on the Dallas team is! It’s really unfair that the Cowboys don’t have to spot other NFL teams a couple touchdowns to even things up.
bigbenownsthenfl says:Feb 13, 2013 3:32 PM
Dick lebeau is somewhere laughing hysterically!
________________________________
Funny, I’ve never hear of the Pittsburgh 4 defense or the Steelers 3 defense by name when copied by half the league. It’s the Tampa 2 because of Monte.
“We’ll believe it when we see it.” – Lifelong Cowboys Fan
Consider the source of that comment.
goodguyattorney, you’ve never heard of pittsburgs’ defense. the steel curtain “D” most of the AFC spent the nineties and early 2000′s trying to emulate it. trust me the tampa two is derived from Pittsburg’s defense. Tony Dungy only played safety there. Tony Dungy not Monte Kiffin introduced the tampa 2. Monte Kiffin inherited that team and philosophy from Dungy. Kiffin is like 73 and in need of pampers. Bill Callahan is as big a joke hire as Kiffin. this is gonna be great like watching jerry springer while eating shrooms….