Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number for Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin

At 72, Kiffin is one of the two oldest assistants in the NFL

At 72-years-old, Monte Kiffin is one of the two oldest active coaches in the NFL. But as he embarks on a brand new journey with the Dallas Cowboys--a return to the NFL for the man who followed his son to Tennessee and then USC in recent years--the godfather of the Tampa 2 defensive scheme maintains that age is not any issue where he’s concerned.

I’m 72 going on 52,” Kiffin said, per the Dallas Morning News. “There are some people 72 going on 82. Don’t worry about me communicating, OK?”

Kiffin knows well that installing a brand new defense is a fairly large undertaking, but having reviewed player personnel and met with head coach Jason Garrett and owner/general manager Jerry Jones, he sounds pretty optimistic about 2013.

“We are not the 1996 Buccaneers by any sense,” Kiffin said. “We like what we see. We had a big evaluation this past couple of days with Mr. Jones and coach Garrett and Stephen [Jones] and the whole pro personnel department, college scouts and everything else. We talked all about our personnel and looked at it and evaluated it, have gone through every single player. We have a good nucleus here for a 4-3 defense, but we still need to get better, no doubt about it.”

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