By ROY CUMMINGS
rcummings@tampatrib.com
TAMPA - There's just one thing that would make Monte Kiffin think about breaking his bond with the Bucs and the Bay area. Unfortunately for both, the St. Louis Rams have offered Kiffin that potential bond breaker.
Kiffin, the Bucs' defensive coordinator, said Thursday he is contemplating leaving the Bucs for a head coaching job with the Rams, whose president discussed the matter with Kiffin during a conversation Wednesday night.
"I do have to weigh a few things out here," Kiffin told The Tribune. "I mean, I have a great relationship with Jon and Bruce and the fans are great here. I really love the place and I think the future is bright.
"But I'm still giving it some consideration. They want me to come for an interview. You can't really just go for an interview just for the sake of going for an interview, so I have to decide on some things."
Kiffin's uncertainty aside, Bucs general manager Bruce Allen seems confident he'll retain Kiffin. After granting the Rams permission to talk to Kiffin, Allen expressed confidence that Kiffin will stay in Tampa Bay.
"I don't know if Monte's going to put himself into the coaching carousel," Allen said Thursday. "He's really happy here. I don't know if he's going to put himself in that."
Kiffin, the architect of the top defense in the league this year, is the second Bucs coach to be considered by the Rams for their head coaching position. St. Louis has also discussed naming defensive line coach Rod Marinelli to that spot.
As of Thursday, though, Marinelli had yet to be invited to St. Louis for an interview. A source within the Rams organization said Marinelli was in essence a second tier candidate.
Kiffin is clearly a first-tier candidate. And it's not the first time he's been in that capacity. Kiffin interviewed for the ***** head coach's position following the Bucs' Super Bowl season in 2002.
But Kiffin quickly re-signed with the Bucs, agreeing four days after his interview to a three-year $5.1 million contract that paid him more, at the time, than some NFL head coaches getting.
Kiffin recently agreed to a two-year extension of that deal, which pays him an average of $1.7 million a year. And until he fielded the offer from the Rams, it seemed he would stay in Tampa at least through the end of that deal.
Now, though, the Bucs are in a position to lose a third member of their defensive staff. Defensive backs coach Mike Tomlin left this week to become the Vikings defensive coordinator, and Marinelli's future remains uncertain.
Allen said Marinelli's name has been mentioned in association with a couple of head coaching jobs, and there is also a chance he will surface as a candidate to run the Bears defense, should cooridnator Ron Rivera land a head coach's job.
Should Kiffin leave, however, the Bucs may seek to retain Marinelli by offering him their defensive coordinator's position. Allen said he has discussed ways of keeping Marinelli with both Marinelli and Marinelli's agent, Frank Bauer
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