The Dallas Cowboys didn’t waste much time finding a new defensive coordinator to replace Rob Ryan.
Just three days after ousting Ryan, the Cowboys were set to hire Monte Kiffin for the position, ESPN.com reported Friday.
The 72-year-old Kiffin left his job as USC’s defensive coordinator in December to pursue a return to the NFL.
Kiffin has plenty of experience in the league. One of his stops during 26 years as an NFL assistant was at Tampa Bay, where he worked as defensive coordinator for 13 seasons.
In Kiffin’s stint with the Buccaneers, his units finished among the top 10 in ttoal defense and scoring defense 11 times. He was with the Bucs when they went to the Super Bowl in 2002.
Moving to the college ranks in 2009, Kiffin joined his son Lane’s staff at Tennessee and then followed him to USC when he took the Trojans’ job two years ago.
The Cowboys fired Ryan on Tuesday after his two seasons as defensive coordinator. This season, the Cowboys finished 19th in the NFL in total defense and missed the playoffs.