So USC's Lane Kiffin was in Phoenix for the recent Pac-12 Conference meetings, and guess who he sees in the hotel workout room? None other than South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, the patron saint of smart-ass football coaches everywhere.

Lane Kiffin's tenure at Tennessee, though short, was filled with headlines. AP Photo/Dave Martin

Since he was in high school, Kiffin has idolized the Head Ball Coach. He loved Spurrier's innovative mismatch pass offense. Loved the visor. Loved the John Blutarsky pencils-hanging-out-of-nose attitude.

"Probably the best college coach there was," Kiffin says.

So Kiffin politely interrupted Spurrier's workout to say hello. And that's when the HBC complimented Kiffin on the Trojans' 10-2 record last season and the program's resolve despite an NCAA-imposed bowl ban, the usual array of media critics and even some in-house doubters. Spurrier likes resolve.

"Coach," said Kiffin, "I was just trying to be like you, say the things that you used to say all the time. They hated me saying it."

Spurrier thought about that for a moment.