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Legendary defensive mind and Pete Carroll mentor Monte Kiffin was recently hired as the Defensive Coordinator for the Cowboys defense, and one little tidbit to come out of Dallas today was that Kiffin is telling his players to go scout the Seahawks for the proper way to play his brand of defense. The Seahawks play a descendant version of Kiffin's brainchild - the 4-3 Under - and led the league in scoring defense in 2012.
"Go see Seattle film and you'll probably learn a lot from those guys, and just watch how they move on the field," Kiffin apparently told CB Brandon Carr this past week, and Carr isn't the only one that has received the homework assignment of copying his protege Pete Carroll's Seahawk defense. According to the Dallas Morning News, "Cowboys defensive lineman Jason Hatcher said he chatted with Kiffin two-to-three weeks ago about the defensive scheme change the team would be making. Kiffin didn't confirm where Hatcher would be playing - Hatcher said he thinks it will be at the three-technique tackle position - but advised the 30-year-old to study tape of the Seahawks' defense."
There had been some rumors over the past few months that Kiffin would be landing in Seattle this summer as an assistant or consultant after a fairly unsuccessful season at USC this past year, 'as long as he didn't get a coordinator job,' as I understood it, and obviously, that's what happened. Kiffin and Carroll worked together in the past, and Carroll's core defensive philosophies were gleaned from his mentor.
For a really, really good look at Kiffin's 1998 Tampa Bay playbook, make sure you head over to Blogging the Boys, as they've been breaking down some of the terminology and systems that are in place. It's something that I think I'll plan on taking a look at this offseason, but in the meantime, you'll probably learn a thing or two, as I'm sure a lot of these concepts are used in Seattle's present defense.
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Inside Monte Kiffin's Playbook: 4-3 Over, Under, And Over Stem Fronts - Blogging The Boys
Monte Kiffin's Defense: Understanding TheTechnique Numbering System - Blogging The Boys
Inside Monte Kiffin's Playbook: Monte Kiffin's Philosophies - Blogging The Boys
Inside Monte Kiffin's Playbook: The Attacks - Blogging The Boys
Inside Monte Kiffin's Playbook: The Coverage - Blogging The Boys