A member of the original coaching staff at the University of South Florida, Earl Lane wears his passion for football on his sleeves and is an outstanding teacher of the game, with an emphasis on USF's interior defensive linemen. Additionally he works closely with ends coach Rich Rachel in plotting the Bulls’ defensive line strategies.
The formula has worked well from the inception of USF football in 1997, but especially in USF’s first two seasons of I-A football (2001-2002), when the Bulls ranked among the top five teams nationally in sacks. Over those two seasons, USF had 86 sacks (3.91 per game). In 2002, USF linemen accounted for 33 of the team’s 45 sacks, while their input was 32.5 of the 41 sacks in 2001. The linemen excelled again in 2003 with a combined 17.5 sacks, including a team-high six from Craig Kobel. Since the 2000 season, USF is ranked 17th nationally with a combined 161 sacks.
The pass rush prowess did not come at the expense of the run game in 2002, when the Bulls finished seventh in the nation against the run, allowing 87.18 yards per game.
Further testament to the work of both Lane and Rachel is the fact that Chris Daley, Tavares Jurineack and Greg Walls were all invited to play in the 2003 Rotary Gridiron Classic, an all-star game for college seniors in Orlando. And a fourth lineman, junior Shurron Pierson, eventually declared for the NFL draft and was selected by the Oakland Raiders.
Always interested in increasing his coaching knowledge, Lane "interned" with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff during the 1997 and 1998 training camps, while he maintained full-time coaching duties with USF.
A teacher and assistant football coach in Hillsborough County (Fla.) since 1980, Lane was among USF's first staff hires in 1996.
Lane began his coaching at Tampa Catholic High School in 1980, where he was defensive coordinator and strength coach for two seasons. From there, he moved to Chamberlain High School for three seasons (1982-84) as defensive line and strength coach. After spending the 1984 summer at Tampa's Jefferson High School, Lane moved to a brand new Gaither High School, where he was defensive line coach for two seasons (1984-85).
In 1985, Lane became a Deputy Sheriff in charge of the Police Athletic League with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, temporarily discontinuing his high school coaching.
In 1991, he returned to coaching, while maintaining his position with the Sheriff's Department. For two seasons (1991-92) he was defensive coordinator/linebacker coach/strength coach at Tampa Bay Vo-Tech, before moving to Bloomingdale High, where he was a linebacker coach in 1993. Just prior to joining USF, Lane was defensive coordinator/linebacker coach/strength coach at Brandon High School (1994-95).
Lane is a graduate of Plant High School in Tampa, and he and his wife, Sharon, are the parents of two sons, James (21) and Sharrick (17). Sharrick has signed to play at Louisiana-Lafayette.
