According to several sources, Monte Kiffin's contract extension was for two years. Stephen Holder of The Times wrote a short piece on how Kiffin doesn't want to quit after the two years is up, though.
"They'll have to run me out," he said. "And if they do, I'll be coaching somewhere else."
Kiffin will be 70 when his new contract expires. 70. Not that a 70-year old can't coach a defense, but at what point does he start to lose the ears of 22-year old rookies because they simply can't identify with him? The NFL is all about production, and by that standard, Kiffin produced the #2 defense in the league. Not too shabby. Kiffin is apparently in excellent health and can go on coaching for quite a while. But there comes a time when an injection of new ideas and a new voice of leadership is called for. I've got to think that in two years, that time will be pretty close.
It is worth noting that Raheem Morris's contract expires after the 2008 season and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be a hot commodity as a defensive coordinator. If the Bucs have any interest in grooming Morris for that job after Kiffin leaves, they should extend his contract now and let him know that the job is his once Kiffin is gone. That may not be so easy. Morris is ambitious and may not want to wait around. Big wads of cash tend to sway those types of opinions, though. It might be worth overpaying a position coach if you know he's going to be your main guy in a couple years.
On a related note, secondary assistant Jimmy Lake took a job with Detroit as their defensive backs coach. Lake is said to have a lot of the qualities that Morris and Mike Tomlin have: strong work ethic, good leadership skills, the respect of their players, keen defensive minds. Lake signed a two year deal with the Lions and will be pretty much in the same position that Morris is in right now. Maybe he comes back to Tampa at the end of 2009?
Do you know how hard it is to find a non-press kit picture of Jimmy Lake or Raheem Morris? It's damn near impossible, so here's a picture of Morris's and Lake's efforts actualized in Tanard Jackson's decapitation of Dallas Clark. If you go back and watch the game, you can see a small piece of Clark's soul left on the field after the play is over.
