Keyshawn Johnson mourns Monte Kiffin’s death, anoints former Buccaneers DC as the greatest in NFL history

Legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin died on Thursday at the age of 84. His family announced the news of his death, and soon afterward, tributes came pouring in.

On Friday's episode of Undisputed, former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, honored Kiffin. Kiffin was the Buccaneers' DC for 13 years.

Johnson said that he feels he is the best defensive coordinator ever because of his experience and what he saw Kiffin do during his time at USC and the Buccaneers.

“Monte was, in the time that I’ve been around both as a Buccaneer and at USC and even as recent as a couple years ago, he will, in my opinion, go down as the greatest defensive coordinator ever," Johnson said. "And people will say ‘What about Bill Belichick?’ ... But I watched that defense in person. Both playing against them and also being a part of the team, and practicing against them."

Keyshawn Johnson also said Bill Belichick typically gets the credit as being the best defensive-minded coach when he feels Monte Kiffin actually is.

"When you think about it, Bill Belichick won a lot of Super Bowls as a head coach and orchestrated their defenses. There’s not a lot of Hall of Famers coming off of his defenses. In his defenses, outside of the Lawrence Taylor years with the Giants, was never known as one of the greatest defenses in the history in the league.”

Keyshawn Johnson expressed how truly the football world will miss Monte Kiffin.

Pro Football Hall of Fame honored Monte Kiffin with excellence award

Monte Kiffin is known around the NFL as the creator of the "Tampa 2" defense. A scheme that is now used around the league and uses a 4-3 defensive lineup that includes four defensive linemen, three linebackers, two safeties and two corners.

In March, Kiffin was honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the Award of Excellence for his iconic coaching career, which he received on June 27. An achievement that his son, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, celebrated on X.

His NFL career spanned from 1983 until 2016, with his longest-tenured position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 until 2008. Although he was approached about head coaching positions, he chose to remain as a defensive coordinator and analyst throughout his NFL tenure.