Earl Lane enters his first season in 2011 coaching the defensive line for the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman. A veteran teacher with experience at both the high school and college levels, Lane has experience in the Big East and SEC, coming most recently from Louisiana State (LSU)

Lane coached three seasons at LSU, serving as the Tigers' defensive line coach. Under his guidance, the 2007 season proved to be one of the best ever for LSU in terms of defensive line play, as Glenn Dorsey won numerous awards, including the Lombardi, Outland, Nagurski and Lott Awards. Dorsey was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, while also making numerous All-America teams on his way to becoming the most decorated defender in school history, and his selection as the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

In 2006, his first LSU season, Lane helped LSU put together one of the best defensive lines in all of college football. Under Lane's watch, the Tigers had one player picked in the NFL Draft (Chase Pittman - 7th round Cleveland Browns), one player earn first-team All-America honors (Glenn Dorsey), another player be named a first-team Freshman All-American (Ricky Jean-Francois) and a fourth defensive lineman named second-team All-SEC (Tyson Jackson).

Prior to joining the LSU staff in the spring of 2006, Lane helped build a South Florida football program from scratch. Lane was part of the first coaching staff, being hired in 1996 by Jim Leavitt. Lane spent all 10 years with the Bulls under Leavitt. During his tenure, South Florida began play in 1997 in the I-AA ranks, moved up to Division I-A in 2001 and earned the school's first bowl bid during the 2005 season as a member of the Big East Conference.

Lane coached a defensive line that helped the Bulls rank among the top five in the nation in sacks in 2001 and 2002. In 2002, South Florida's defensive line accounted for 33 of the team's 45 sacks, while a year earlier they had 31.5 of the squad's 41 sacks.

In 2005, the Bulls ranked No. 14 in the nation in scoring defense and were No. 18 in rushing defense on their way to reaching a bowl game for the first time in school history. USF lost to N.C. State, 14-0, in the Meineke Car Care Bowl to cap the 2005 season.

Lane is also known as a tremendous recruiter, especially in the state of Florida. He joins a staff that has already shown a demonstrated ability in signing top prospects.

Prior to his coaching stint at South Florida, Lane coached linebackers for one year (1993) at Bloomingdale High School, followed by two years (1994-95) as the defensive coordinator at Brandon High School in Florida.

Other coaching stops for Lane include: defensive coordinator at Tampa Catholic High School in 1980-81; defensive line coach at Tampa Chamberlain High School in 1982-83; defensive line coach at Tampa Gaither High School in 194-85; and defensive coordinator at Tampa Bay Vo-Tech in 1991-92.

Lane is a graduate of Northwood University in Midland, Mich., and H.B. Plant High School in Tampa. He and his wife Sharon have two sons, James and Sharrick, who played football for Louisiana-Lafayette.