The Florida Gators Head Coach That Influenced Lane Kiffin

Everyone has a brand. Lane Kiffin is no exception. Part of that brand is his visor. Look at any picture of him as a coach, and you'll see he's always been wearing one. When asked why he's a "visor guy" on his appearance on Pardon My Take, Kiffin quickly revealed a legendary Florida Gators head coach gave him the idea.

"I wanted to be Steve Spurrier," Kiffin said. "When I watched him and his offenses in the visor and kind of the way he'd throw jabs at other coaches and team and stuff, I was like, Steve Spurrier is the man. That's what I want to be."

It also likely inspired his jabs he makes. So, for those who have gotten familiar with his trolling on Twitter, you can thank the Head Ball Coach for that.

Knowing honest Spurrier kept things is why Kiffin tends to avoid "coach speak." He also took note that those who played under the Gators coach were a fan of it.

"But I thought it was awesome because the players loved it," he said. "Like, 'we want to go play for Steve Spurrier.' He's got our back."

The way the two head coaches run the show has drawn comparisons from other former Gators as well. Shane Matthews, who was a quarterback at Florida under Spurrier, sees a staunch resemblance.

"Look, I don't know if Lane would come here or not, but he is as close to Steve Spurrier as there's ever been a guy," he said on his podcast a couple weeks ago.