The Greg Robinson Era Mercifully Comes to an End

Yesterday it was announced that Syracuse University fired head football Greg Robinson. Today we have reaction and commentary from one of the 'Cuse's finest. In ASD's first ever guest post we present The Concierge, a Syracuse alum, product of the prestegious S.I. Newhouse School of Communication, and current member of the media. We now present his take on the move that was long over due:

If you’ve watched the Syracuse University football team any time in the last four years, you’ve undoubtedly seen one of the worst, if not the worst, college football teams in the country. It’s a disgrace, especially for a college that ranks among the top 15 winningest college football programs in the country.

In Syracuse football’s nearly 120 year history, greats like Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Larry Csonka and Donovan McNabb have helped build what was once one of the most prestigious programs in college football. Over 12 decades, Syracuse won a National Championship (1959), 12 out of 21 bowl games and had a Heisman Trophy winner (Davis). In all, SU has won 672 games.

But only nine of those wins have come in the last four years, just three in the Big East Conference. Under Head Coach Greg Robinson, SU football has become nothing more than a joke. Games have been unbearable to watch.

SU Athletic Director Darryl Gross says he’s now ready to change that. A day after Connecticut routed Syracuse 39-14, Gross announced the inevitable – Robinson is out at the end of this year.

“I have made the decision to move our football program in a new direction,” Gross said.

Nice choice of words by Gross, considering there is no other direction for the program to go. At 2-8, Syracuse is ranked 113 in the country according to Jeff Sagarin’s football ratings. SU is at the bottom of the pile.

Robinson’s firing was long-overdue. Although blame for the program’s failure doesn’t fall squarely on his shoulders, Robinson is a big part of SU’s fall from grace. For whatever reason, Gross decided to hire the former University of Texas defensive coordinator after firing longtime SU coach Paul Pasqualoni. It’s somewhat understandable to see Syracuse’s offense struggling under Robinson, but that shouldn’t be the case for its defense year after year. In 2008, the defense has allowed 33.9 points/game (ranked 113 in team defense).

So who will save Syracuse football? Fans can only hope it’s not another “defensive genius” who on the other side of the ball believes in the West Coast offense. Due to location and recent history, Syracuse just can’t recruit players good enough to handle the West Coast offense. If Syracuse is going to return to relevance, the new coach will have to make do with the talent he has. Like Nebraska, Syracuse used to be known for option football. That has to return.

Syracuse’s next coach can’t be an untested assistant somewhere. He has to be someone who has proven himself. He has to be someone with real ties to Syracuse; a former player who knows the true meaning of SU’s football tradition. Who that is, I don’t know. Some say UConn head coach Randy Edsall (a former SU player and assistant coach) should be the man.

The good news? A change is coming. Things can only get better at this point. It may take some time to recover from the Greg Robinson hangover, but at least there’s basketball. Syracuse is 1-0.



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