IRVING, Texas --- Monte Kiffin says he never thought about leaving the Dallas Cowboys when he was demoted in January.
His good friend Rod Marinelli was promoted from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator and Kiffin was relegated to assistant head coach/defense.
"I'm excited," Kiffin said Friday. "I'm real fired up. I'm not down one bit. I'm really not. I can't coach that way. I wouldn't stay here. If I didn't feel right and I wasn't going to contribute and it wasn't going to be a good situation, I promise you I would have moved on. But I really like it here and I like the head coach.
"But Rod is their guy and we're all fired up. Take it one day at a time, and if you don't like your situation then move on. I'm serious. When you sign a contract ⦠God dang it, if I'm coaching, I want to coach my tail off."
In one season implementing the Tampa-2, 4-3 scheme, Kiffin's group was historically bad, finishing last in the NFL in total defense, allowing 415.3 yards per game. Dallas also allowed 432 points, second-most in team history.
The 74-year-old entered the season hoping he'd be coaching a defensive group that included Anthony Spencer, DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff and Jason Hatcher up front. But injuries prevented that from ever happening.
"I remember this time last year out here at mini-camp, it's the Doom's Day Defense or whatever and you look clear across the board with Spencer, Hatcher, Ware and Ratliff, but it just happened.
"No one planned it that way and decided they would just write this script up to see if you can do it or anything. Nobody planned it that way, believe me."
Of course, Kiffin's transition has been smoother than most because he has an 11-year coaching history with Marinelli. The two spent 10 seasons together in Tampa Bay (1996-2006) before joining the Cowboys staff a year ago.
"Monte's been awesome," Marinelli said. "It's important to state, I don't think I've ever been around a guy that took a bump in the road and his work habits have not changed. He's the first guy here in the morning and the last guy at night, working. 'What can I do? How do we get this better?' And he's all about winning.
"Of all the things he's accomplished in his career, which is a lot, this might even be the best thing that he's done. With all the wins, the Super Bowls, all those things, whenever anybody hits a bump in their life, instead of going into the tank, man-up, and that's exactly what he's doing."
