Some thoughts on life after Greg Robinson

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, October 02, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Syracuse Orange
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By this time, we all know that Syracuse University's Greg Robinson is a dead man coaching.

Robinson was told in no uncertain terms (OK, maybe they were a little uncertain) by athletic director Darryl Gross that he would be gone after this season if the Orange failed to show "significant improvement." Losing to Northwestern in the opener didn't fit that criteria, and falling to Akron in Week 2 -- at home -- was probably the fatal dagger.

Heaping insult on a multitude of injuries was a 55-13 Week 3 rout at the hands of former bitter rival Penn State, a game in which even the notoriously merciless Joe Paterno showed mercy (the Nittany Lions' final touchdown came on a pass from their third-string quarterback to a third-string wide receiver).

"We haven't been tested yet," Paterno said afterward. "We still have to play Temple next week."

Oh, the humanity!

The really bad news, for Syracuse fans, is this: While firing the coach of a dreadful team might feel good and righteous at the time, it's hardly a quick fix. The Orange is probably going to be at least mediocre for several years to come.

If nothing else, there's recruiting. These days, that vital function is generally carried out a year in advance. Syracuse has four commitments, and there's a no guarantee they will hold firm if (or when) Robinson is fired. Meanwhile, what are Robinson's assistants supposed to tell high school seniors now -- "Come to Syracuse, even though we probably won't be there"?

The only thing that would help would be if Gross elevated one of Robinson's underlings to the head job and kept the rest of the staff. Highly unlikely, because that staff is tainted in the eyes of the alumni.

So how did Syracuse get to this low point? Certainly, it's not all Robinson's fault.

1. In the halcyon days of Ernie Davis ("The Express") and a decade or so beyond, college football in the Northeast was dominated by three schools -- Syracuse, Penn State and Pitt. Since then, Boston College has emerged, along with Connecticut, Rutgers and West Virginia, all of which fish in the same recruiting pond as the Orange.

2. Syracuse doesn't have a natural base from which to recruit. If Alabama got all the good players from its home state, it would be a Top 25 team forever. Same with South Carolina, LSU, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and others. If Syracuse got all the good players from New York state, it would still be mediocre. There are a few, but not enough. And the Orange hasn't even gotten the best talent from its backyard recently -- Mike Hart (Michigan), Mike Paulus (North Carolina) and Jolon Dunbar (Boston College) are just three examples of that.

3. The blizzard-ridden Syracuse winters are a powerful recruiting tool -- for other schools. This is modified somewhat by the fact that the Orange plays indoors in the Carrier Dome, but recruits know they can't stay indoors from November to March.

4. Bad teams tend to spiral downward. One of the first questions the top recruits want to know is: How often are you on TV? And they mean prime time, not ESPN U.

Unfortunately, college football isn't like college basketball, where a single heroic Dave Bing was able to turn SU's program from doormat to respectable overnight. It's a rare football player, no matter how many Rivals stars he has, who can dominate in college as a freshman. And even if Syracuse can luck into a future star with a Messiah complex ("I come to save your program!"), it's going to take a lot more than him alone.

Tampering restrictions preclude approaching another team's head coach or assistants during the season. Therefore, unless Gross goes after a high-profile name currently sitting out this season (Lloyd Carr and Lane Kiffin have been mentioned, with no real validity), he'll have to wait until January to replace Robinson.

Syracuse used to be a final destination for coaches, but Gross may now have to find the latest hot young assistant who will attempt to rebuild the Orange from the ashes and then go somewhere else. No longer do other Division 1-A coaches with Syracuse ties, like Connecticut's Randy Edsall, consider their alma mater a step up.

Whomever Gross hires, one can hope that he learned from the Robinson experiment. This was a California native who had never coached east of Texas on the college level, and he didn't have the East Coast connections he needed. Let's face it, while a blue-chip player from Maryland, Pennsylvania or New Jersey would consider the Orange, the school won't get many recruits from Southern California. And if Syracuse fans hoped Robinson would flood his roster with expatriate Texans (he was defensive coordinator at UT when he was hired), it never happened.

Finally, if it's not pushing the boundaries of political correctness, Syracuse might consider hiring a black head coach. This is, after all, the school of Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, John Mackey, Floyd Little, Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison and on and on.

Speed -- or the lack of it -- has been a chronic problem for the Orange in recent years, and black athletes tend to be faster. That's not to say that someone with dark skin can't be a nuclear physicist or corporation president (or president of the United States, for that matter), or that there aren't Caucasians who can run 4.3 40s. But all you have to do is look at the rosters of the teams that have been beating the Orange like a drum.

True, Syracuse already has a lot of black players, and some of them are promising. But the SU coaches are not getting in the front door with the top prospects, and perhaps a coach of similar ethnicity would have an edge. Plus, Gross happens to be African-American himself.

Just a thought. Things could hardly get worse.
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