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Longtime Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will finally get his Ring of Honor induction ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 19 when Tampa Bay hosts the division rival Atlanta Falcons. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted the news on Thursday:
The #Bucs will induct former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin into their Ring of Honor, a ceremony that will take place at halftime of the #Bucs-#Falcons game on Sunday, Sept. 19.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 1, 2021
Kiffin was set to be inducted as the Ring of Honor’s 14th member during the 2020 season, but the team postponed his ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just last week, Bucs COO Brian Ford said the new date for Kiffin’s induction would be announced “next month.” Sure enough, Rapoport broke the news on the first day of July. An official announcement from the team will presumably follow in short order.
The Athletic’s Greg Auman added to Rapoport’s report, noting that Kiffin will speak with the media on July 14 regarding his induction.
Bucs have chosen the Week 2 home game against Falcons on Sept. 19 as the game where longtime defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will be inducted into the team's Ring of Honor. He'll also speak with reporters July 14 about the upcoming honor.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 1, 2021
Kiffin was with the Bucs from 1996-2008, calling the shots for some of the most talented defenses in franchise history. He joined Tony Dungy’s staff in 1996 and, of course, stuck around when Jon Gruden arrived in 2002, helping lead the defense to a historic season en route to the organization’s first Lombardi Trophy.
This year will mark the fifth time the Bucs have held a Ring of Honor ceremony at halftime of a game against the Falcons. They are 1-3 in the previous four games, with their lone win coming on Doug Williams’ induction day in 2015. The three losses occurred on the induction days of John McKay (2010), John Lynch (2016) and Jon Gruden (2017).
Overall, Tampa Bay is 4-9 on Ring of Honor induction days, having lost on the last five. The defending Super Bowl champions will certainly want to snap that streak in front of Kiffin on Sept. 19.