John Robinson, national title-winning head coach from USC, dies at 89
John Robinson, known for leading the USC football team to a national title in 1978, has died at 89 years old.
University officials said Robinson died in Baton Rouge, LA, after suffering complications with pneumonia.
Described by the program as "one of USC's most popular and successful football coaches," Robinson also led the Trojans to eight bowl games, won 74.1% of his games and earned 5 Pac-10 titles during his two stints as head coach.
Known for his run-first offense, Robinson amassed most of his awards during his initial run at the helm between 1976 and 1982. In his first season, Robinson earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors after turning the program from an 8-4 team ranked 17th in the nation to an 11-1 program ranked as the second-best team in all of College Football.
After a down year in 1977, Robinson and the Trojans bounced back in 1978 to win USC's ninth national title and the program's final championship in the 20th century. Robinson's 12-1 season earned him the Pac-10 Coach of the Year award for the second time.
He followed up the national title with an undefeated season in 1979, only tying with Stanford in a conference match-up. After another second-place finish in the AP poll, College Football named Robinson the National Coach of the Year.
During his two stints at USC, Robinson coached 24 All-American first-teamers, 22 NFL first-rounders, two Heisman Trophy winners in Charles White and Marcus Allen and a Lombardi Award winner in Brad Budde.
After the 1982 season, Robinson left the Trojans to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams. Similar to his college days, Robinson turned the 2-7 Rams into a winning team in his first year, putting up a 9-7 record on the way to a playoff berth.
Robinson never won the Super Bowl during his time as the Rams head coach, however, he led LA to the conference championship twice. In their two NFC Championship games, Robinson and his team lost to the eventual Super Bowl Winners, the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 1989 San Francisco 49ers.
He closed out his second stint with USC with a 37-21-2 record before leaving the program in 1997. UNLV hired him after an 0-11 season in 1998. Two seasons later, Robinson led the team to a bowl win against Arkansas.
In the roughly six decades spent in football, Robinson cemented himself as one of the sport's greatest minds, providing on-air analysis for radio broadcasts on game day. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2004, the College Football Hall of Fame and the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009, the Las Vegas Bowl Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2018.
Born in Chicago, Illinois on July 25, 1935, Robinson moved to Provo, Utah when he was 6 years old, and to the San Francisco Bay Area at age 9. He attended grade school in Daly City with future Hall of Fame NFL coach and lifelong friend John Madden, and graduated from Serra High School in San Mateo in 1954.
Robinson went on to the University of Oregon and played tight end on the Ducks' 1958 Rose Bowl team. He began his coaching career at his alma mater two years later, serving as assistant coach until 1971.
He is survived by his wife Beverly, his four children, two stepchildren and 10 grandchildren.
