Athletic director Daryl Gross introduces Greg Robinson as SU's new head football coach.
Syracuse Names Robinson Orange Football Coach
1/11/2005 10:22:23 AM | Football, General
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Greg Robinson's Remarks
Dr. Daryl J. Gross' Remarks
SU Player Quotes
What They Are Saying About Coach Robinson
Greg Robinson Press Conference Photo Gallery
Veteran gridiron coach Greg Robinson brings a resume filled with success to take the reins of the Syracuse University football program. SU Director of Athletics Daryl Gross introduced the Orange’s 27th head football coach today. The co-defensive coordinator at the University of Texas in 2004, Robinson was the mastermind behind the Longhorns' defensive unit for the 11-1 squad that beat Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl.
“Greg Robinson brings a winning attitude and championship football tradition to our program,” Gross said. “He has had nothing but success in postseason games with four Rose Bowl rings, eight overall bowl victories in eight appearances and seven NFL postseason wins, including two Super Bowls.”
Robinson assumes the leadership for the Orange program that has a 663-436-49 record in its 115 years of existence. Syracuse is 12th on the all-time Division I record list for wins with 663. The 2005 Orange squad is slated to have 15 returning starters, including six on offense and nine on defense.
Robinson’s Texas defense finished the season ranked 18th in scoring defense (17.92), 16th in rushing defense (107.42) and 23rd in total defense (320.08) in the country. The Longhorns held six of Texas’ 12 opponents to 14 points or less. In addition, the defense was also able to hold two of the nation's top scoring teams, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, 23 points and 14 points below their season averages, respectively.
“In the five years in New York with the Jets, I developed a lot of strong relationships with people and from the time I left New York, it never left us,” Robinson said of his coaching stint with the New York Jets. “It was part of our family. I had relationships with some outstanding young people, who were football players I had the opportunity to coach with the Jets, in Paul Frase, Rob Moore and Art Monk. They are fine people, as well as excellent football players. I know a lot about Syracuse, so when the opportunity was out there, I went after it very hard. To me the thought of coming back to New York and being at Syracuse University with the tradition that it has, is very exciting.”
The Syracuse post is Robinson’s first as a head coach. A veteran of 14 seasons coaching in the NFL, including 10 as a defensive coordinator, Robinson has coached for 30 years either at the NFL or college level. He spent his first 15 seasons as a college coach.
“It has been a long time coming,” Robinson said of his first head coaching position. “It is funny how your blessings come, but I am really glad that the opportunity is coming now in my career. I am so much better than I was a number of years ago. I left college football 15 years ago and went off to professional football for 14 years, but I am glad that I was able to come back to college football to the University of Texas and to get back and realize how much I missed about the college experience. I saw how much better prepared I was to take on whatever the world was going to be, as a defensive coordinator or a head coach eventually. I had experienced so much during the 14 years prior to coming to the University of Texas that I can see now that I was ready to go. Right now I feel that I am prepared and ready to go hit the ground running.”
Under Robinson’s mentoring, the 2004 UT defense produced two first-team All-Big 12 selections and five others who have earned recognition among the All-Big 12 second, third and honorable mention teams.
“First of all it is about a staff ,” Robinson said of his priorities for the Orange program. “I am going to put together a staff that is going to be high energy people who are enthusiastic and on the move. They are going to be a group of people who are highly intelligent with great integrity. This begins with talking with the coaches who are still at Syracuse.
“My next thought is recruiting. The first thing I want to do is make sure the first job in recruiting is those football players who are there in that program, specifically the guys who are going to be seniors. I want to make sure that I am in touch with them immediately to let them know about me. I want them to know that they are on my mind and that my intent for them is to make sure that we are not looking way down the road, we are looking to win football games next year and we are going to need their leadership.
“From that point on it will be hitting the high school recruiting trail and talking with the young men who have made commitments to Syracuse to let them know that I am on my way after I take care of the student-athletes who are here.”
Defensive System Dominates
Prior to joining the Longhorns in January, 2004, Robinson spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he helped turn around a team that was 7-9 in 2000, the year before he arrived, into a unit that posted the second-best record in the NFL in 2003 (13-3). As defensive coordinator, Robinson’s aggressive, attacking Chiefs’ units produced 70 sacks and forced 68 turnovers (43 interceptions/25 fumble recoveries) in 2002 and 2003. During that time, Kansas City posted a 21-11 record.
In 2003, Robinson’s Chiefs’ defense produced 36 sacks (T-6th/AFC), 25 interceptions (2nd AFC/3rd NFL) and forced 37 turnovers (T-3rd AFC/5th NFL). Kansas City led the NFL in turnover margin with a +19 advantage in that category. In 2001, the Chiefs registered 34 sacks, 18 interceptions and forced 31 turnovers. They led the AFC and ranked third in the NFL in turnover margin that year.
Robinson established his reputation as a tremendous defensive coordinator in Denver, where he transformed a struggling defense into a Super Bowl Championship unit, serving as the architect of a defense that led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 1997 and ’98. After inheriting a club that ranked last in total defense in 1994, Robinson made an immediate impact in his first season with the team, as the Broncos finished the 1995 campaign ranked 15th in the same category. By 1996, he had turned Denver into the league’s fourth-rated defensive unit, and by season number three in ‘97, the Broncos were on their way to the first of two straight Super Bowl titles.
During his stellar six-season stay in Denver, the Broncos made four playoff appearances and claimed back-to-back World Championships with wins in Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, making them just one of six franchises in NFL history to accomplish a Super Bowl repeat. During that six-year span, the Broncos compiled a 64-32 (.667) regular-season record.
The Broncos ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in total defense during three of Robinson’s six seasons at the club’s defensive helm, finishing seventh in ‘99 (297.1 ypg), fifth in ‘97 (291.9 ypg) and fourth in ‘96 (279.4 ypg). Denver’s defenses were also stingy in the scoring column during his reign with the Broncos, producing three top 10 rankings in scoring defense — eighth in ‘98 (19.3 ppg), sixth in ‘97 (17.9 ppg) and seventh in ‘96 (17.2 ppg). The team’s pass defense ranked among the league’s top 10 in four of his six seasons with Denver, finishing eighth in ‘99 (188.5 ypg), fifth in ‘97 (179.3 ypg), 10th in ‘96 (196.2 ypg) and ninth in ‘95 (206.1 ypg). Denver’s run defense ranked in the league’s top 10 three times during Robinson’s tenure. The run defense was highlighted when Denver led the NFL (83.2 ypg) in ‘97 and ranked third in 1998 (80.4 ypg).
The performance of Robinson’s defense throughout the ‘98 playoffs was paramount to Denver’s quest for a second straight title. The Broncos allowed opponents just 53.0 rushing yards per game in the postseason and forced a remarkable 13 turnovers in just three games. Denver allowed just 25 total points during that stretch.
Robinson joined the Broncos after a five-year stint with the New York Jets (1990-94). He coached the defensive line from 1990-93 and served as defensive coordinator in ‘94 when the Jets ranked eighth in the league by permitting just 20.0 points per game. Forcing turnovers and a stingy run defense were also a staple of Robinson’s defenses in New York. During his last four years with the Jets, the defense forced 151 turnovers, most in the AFC and second most in the NFL during that span. They improved from 27th in the league in total defense in ‘89 to eighth in ‘93. New York’s rush defense showed significant improvement, jumping to a fifth-place ranking (92.1 ypg) after allowing 133.5 yards per game in ‘89.
Excellence Began in College Ranks
The Los Angeles native spent his first 15 years of coaching in the collegiate ranks and entered the NFL after an eight-year stint at UCLA (1982-89). Robinson was the Bruins defensive line coach from 1982-88 before switching sides of the ball to serve as offensive coordinator in 1989. He was a member of three Rose Bowl Champion squads during his tenure with the Bruins, following the 1982, ‘83 and ‘85 seasons. He had been promoted to assistant head coach at UCLA for the 1990 season, but opted to join the Jets instead.
A 1975 graduate of the University of the Pacific with a degree in political science, Robinson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pacific in 1975-76. He made stops at Cal State Fullerton (1977-79) and North Carolina State (1980-81) before moving to UCLA in 1982.
Robinson began his collegiate playing career as a linebacker at Bakersfield Community College from 1970-71 before moving on to play center, tight end and linebacker at the University of the Pacific in 1975-76.
He and his wife, Laura, have three children, Dominic, Lindsay and Leslie Ann.
Greg Robinson At A Glance
Hometown Los Angeles, Calif.
High school Garces (Bakersfield, Calif.)
College University of the Pacific ‘75
Years in coaching 30
High school Garces (Bakersfield, Calif.)
College University of the Pacific ‘75
Years in coaching 30
Robinson’s Coaching Career
2004 Co-Defensive Coordinator/LBs Texas
2001-03 Defensive Coordinator Kansas City Chiefs
1995-2000 Defensive Coordinator Denver Broncos
1994 Defensive Coordinator New York Jets
1990-93 Assistant Coach/Defensive Line New York Jets
1989 Offensive Coordinator UCLA
1982-88 Assistant Coach/Defensive Line UCLA
1980-81 Assistant Coach North Carolina State
1977-79 Assistant Coach Cal State Fullerton
1975-76 Assistant Coach Pacific
National Football League Postseason/College Bowl Experience
2005 Rose Bowl Texas
2003 Playoffs Kansas City Chiefs
2000 Playoffs Denver Broncos
1998 Super Bowl Denver Broncos
1997 Super Bowl Denver Broncos
1996 Playoffs Denver Broncos
1991 Playoffs New York Jets
1989 Cotton Bowl UCLA
1987 Aloha Bowl UCLA
1986 Freedom Bowl UCLA
1986 Rose Bowl UCLA
1985 Fiesta Bowl UCLA
1984 Rose Bowl UCLA
1983 Rose Bowl UCLA
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