The Bucs were in danger of losing Sunday, so you know what happened next. If not, you haven't paid attention the past 13 seasons.

"This was his type of game," Ronde Barber said.

He is Monte Kiffin, the defensive coordinator. For roughly the 748th time, his defense saved Tampa Bay.

Sunday's effort featured interceptions the last two times New Orleans had the ball. The Bucs won 23-20 and afterward they were talking about their destiny and the beauty of being 9-3.

Not to rain on their rainy-day happiness, but Tampa Bay's overall destiny may have suffered a huge loss over the weekend. Word is Kiffin will become defensive coordinator at Tennessee.

Not the Titans, the Volunteers.

His son, Lane, is supposed to be introduced as Tennessee's new coach today.

"It's all speculation," the father said.

Tampa Bay fans should light candles and pray that is all that the talk amounts to.

With all due respect to Derrick Brooks, Tony Dungy, Warren Sapp, Jon Gruden, Ronde Barber and Buccaneer Bruce, nobody is more responsible for the franchise's rise than the 68-year-old with the distinctive comb over.

"He's the backbone of our defense," Barrett Ruud said.

And the defense has been the back, hip, neck and thigh bone of every team since 1996. That's when Kiffin and Dungy introduced the "Tampa 2" defense to the NFL.

I'd explain it to you if I could, but all I really know is it could stop the 101st Airborne. It didn't exactly stop Drew Brees, but it did contain the NFL's top-rated offense.

"How about that game?" an excited Kiffin said.

It was impressive. So how about ending the speculation you're leaving?

"No, no," Kiffin said. "I don't want to talk about it."

He doesn't want to pull a Nick Saban, swearing he's staying but then bolting to the SEC. And Kiffin doesn't want to pull a reverse Saban, hinting he is going to the Vols but then remaining with the Bucs.

What we have for now is the Monte Watch, which is a bit ironic. The defense has been so good for so long, it's become easy to take Kiffin for granted.

The best personnel move Gruden ever made was keeping Kiffin after Dungy was fired. Since then the Boy Wonder's offenses have regularly finished in the bottom third of the league.

Kiffin's defenses have ranked in the top five all but 2006. That's when Bruce Gradkowski was the quarterback and the Bucs got about one first down every two weeks.

Imagine how good the defenses might have been if they hadn't had to lug around that offensive anvil all those years. Sunday was pretty typical. The Bucs got a 20-10 lead. "Then we took our foot off the gas pedal," Davin Joseph said.

That put the pressure on the defense to keep stopping the NFL's top-rated offense. It never let up on the gas pedal. That's why Kiffin makes $2 million a year.

"I know this, we don't want to lose him," Gruden said.

Some wonder if Kiffin will be motivated to recruit and cajole 18-year-olds. Judging by the amount of time he devotes to work now, college may seem easy. As for qualifications, he might be under-employed at Tennessee.

"Monte's built a dynasty down here," Ruud said. "But it's his kid."

Blood is thicker than even Malcolm Glazer's wallet. And Kiffin could be close to his family, coach out his golden years and maybe even enjoy regularly scheduled help from the other side of the ball.

So will he stay or will he go? Kiffin doesn't want to talk about it.

Bucs fans don't even want to think about it.