As Nick Saban was torching college football teams and rewriting the rules of college football with his ‘process,’ Monte Kiffin in the NFL had already pioneered the ‘Tampa 2’ defense and left a lasting legacy in his 26-year career. However, before Monte Kiffin went to the NFL, just like other head coaches, he was perfecting his defensive style in the college ranks. And there he met one of the brightest offensive minds of college football currently, on whom he has left a lasting impression, as the pupil recalls his time with Sr Kiffin.

While Monte Kiffin taught him the defensive intricacies of his signature ‘Tampa 2’ defense. Nick Saban, on the other hand, influenced him by reviving his career. “I would not be standing here today without you and what you’ve meant to my career, to my life. I just can’t thank you enough, and just wanted to be able to publicly do that to you, coach, thank you very, very much,” said Steve Sarkisian in his first SEC press conference. Rather than discussing his team’s prospects, Sarkisian opened with a message of deep gratitude for Nick Saban. And why wouldn’t he?

This was the legendary head coach who took him under his wing and revived his career after his controversial firing from USC in 2016. At Alabama, Sarkisian exceeded all expectations and delivered a national championship in 2020 and was quickly roped in by the Longhorns. At Longhorns, the head coach delivered two back-to-back playoff appearances, and that too in the SEC. So, recently, the Texas head coach sat on ‘3rd and Longhorn’s’ 24th June podcast and talked about the coaches who influenced his offensive and defensive philosophy.

While Sarkisian credited several coaches like Mike Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, and Mike McDaniel, he said that his learnings came from watching them. But it was evident in his speech that the influence of Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, and Monte Kiffin was the most powerful.

“Honestly, all the credit goes to Pete Carroll and Nick Saban. Because they taught me defensive football, and by knowing defensive play, we just don’t run plays; we’re running plays to beat very specific things, and we’re running plays to know where you’re vulnerable and know who’s taxed.” As for Lane Kiffin’s late father, Monte Kiffin, Sarkisian spoke of him with deep admiration, describing how Monte Kiffin taught Steve Sarkisian his iconic ‘Tampa 2’ defense.

Sarkisian recalled his time at USC during 2001-2003, when Monte Kiffin was the defensive coordinator and Sarkisian was an offensive assistant. The HC reminisced about how he used to sit with Monte Kiffin, along with Lane Kiffin, at USC’s Heritage Hall and throw all kinds of questions to Monte Kiffin to know the “ins and outs” of his defense.

“I’m learning Tampa 2 like the ins and outs of Tampa 2, the rule breakers the plays that give it the problems why it’s an issue the indicators when they’re not playing Tampa 2 and they’re going to play three deep and what you’re looking for and so I still hold on to those premises,” recalled Steve Sarkisian. As for the Tampa 2 defense? It still shapes coaches and teams both in the NFL and college football.

Using the same Tampa 2 defense, Monte Kiffin led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their historic Super Bowl victory in 2002, and during his time from 1993 to 2003, his defenses always ranked among the NFL’s top 10. Even though now defense has evolved with RPO concepts and spread offense, the structure still remains, and many teams still use it.

For instance, at Baylor, Matt Rhule utilized an inverted Tampa 2 defense within a 3-3-5 framework and led them to the Big 12 championship game. So, Monte Kiffin’s legacy still lives on, both with influence on Steve Sarkisian and football in general. However, from an offensive standpoint, Sarkisian credits another coach who had immense influence on him.

Steve Sarkisian opened up on his offensive mentor

Steve Sarkisian is primarily an offensive mastermind, having perfected his offensive philosophy since 2000 when he first stepped into the coaching world. And the results of his offensive brilliance are apparent. Just last year, his offense averaged 33 points per game and was 24th nationally and 17th in total offense in the country. But behind these offensive exploits was a mind that is himself a 3 time Super Bowl champion as a head coach.

“In your offense—you know, I think from an offensive perspective, I always try to study those guys who have been so good over the years, right? Clearly, Andy Reid—you know, I mean, he’s a great friend of mine. We got some ties that go way back to BYU back in the day, and so I’ve always admired, you know, the creativity that he’s had. But yet at the end of the day, there’s a foundation to what they do,” said Steve Sarkisian about Andy Reid’s influence on him.

Andy Reid and Sarkisian were together at BYU, where they played for the Cougars, though in different eras. Reid was a graduate assistant at BYU in 1982, and Sarkisian was a quarterback in the mid-1990s. The shared alma mater has created an influence, and Sarkisian learned a lot watching Reid’s offenses. Not just the offensive philosophy, but Sarkisian also learned developing QBs from Reid, and that is another reason why the season looks quite optimistic for young Arch Manning.