If I could have had a coaching career, I would have wanted it to be like John Robinson’s. The former USC and L.A. Rams head coach was, in my mind, one of the classiest coaches ever, in any sport.
He was open and affable when he won, and he was exactly the same when he lost. He accepted responsibility and blame for losses and passed praise on to others when his teams won. And his teams did win. Only legendary coaches John McKay and Howard Jones won more games at USC. Robinson always came across as a guy you wished your father-in-law would or could be like. A classy guy who was in a class by himself. He will genuinely be missed.
Steve Kaye
Oro Valley, Ariz.
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Legendary Times columnist Jim Murray in 1982 described coach John Robinson as “more like a country doctor healing the sick.” As successful as a football coach he was at USC and in the NFL, I remember Robinson for an action describing his character. Not sure exactly when, but Robinson was noted for helping a troubled driver on the freeway fix a flat tire. John Robinson is now on the coaching staff for the team up above along with his childhood friend, John Madden.
Wayne Muramatsu
Cerritos
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I met coach Robinson at a USC football event in 2012. I told him that we were linked because his first game as head coach was my first game as a USC freshman. Without hesitation he said, “So, it’s your fault we lost!”
Randy S. Miller
Reseda