Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference Transcript (Dec. 2, 2008)
Opening Comments
“I told you a couple of weeks ago we'd wait until today to talk. As I get started, there are a couple of things I'd like to mention. One is that I think it's pretty evident to you that I really, really like my job here at Syracuse. I could even go further and say that I've loved it. I've loved every minute of it. That doesn't mean that there weren't hard times and things that we've had to fight through and all of that. I'll also say I've been very fortunate with great support. Most of you know Laura (Robinson). She has embraced this and was able to as our kids were grown and she was able to embrace this football team, in a way that has been unique. On top of that, the two of us have been able to embrace the community and we have gotten to know this community. That's as hard as walking away from the football team because we really see that there are a lot of great people here. Laura has extended herself in so many ways, in charity and different things that I really commend her for. I've liked being a part of her world out there because she has been a part of that. The other person sitting up there is Dominic (Robinson), my son, who coached for me a couple of years here and not really because he was going to go into coaching, but because he wanted to help his Dad. It will be hard for Laura and I in that he has embraced this community. He is really fighting the fight right now in the community. We won't be here as much as we'd like to be and be as supportive as we could've been. Those are things that are important that you understand. Those are really important things to me.
“As far as work here, and I told you a few weeks back, hey, my intent is to reapply for my job. I don't know if I'm getting anywhere with that. As a matter of fact, I'm willing to offer up compensation if I get my job back to give back to the facilities or whatever. I'm in Donnie McPherson's camp, ‘Put up or shut up.’ I'm willing to put up. I say that because I think that much about this place and I do believe it has a chance. It truly does. I think a lot of times people look at me and say, where's this guy coming from? I hear some and see some of this stuff that's out there. ‘How can he continue to say this and that or whatever?’ When I tell you that there is improvement here or improvement there, I'm not trying to fulfill (Dr.) Daryl's (Gross) statement of we must see measurable progress. No, I'm telling you that is the way I see things. I believe you have to see it like that. Every day, you have to find something.
“I still I think I can. That is what it's all about. Every day, I see those little things. I see (safety) Max Suter getting better. I see (true freshman) Chandler Jones making a step in the right direction. What you have to do is you have to validate that at every moment you can. That's how you do it. This is not an easy job. This is a demanding job. Impossible? No. Not impossible, but you have to keep fighting. I feel like we're up there and we're pulling that train. We are chugging along. This coaching staff has given their all. It's going to be very hard, and I say this selfishly, I think it will be very, very hard to replace this coaching staff. This is an outstanding group of men. And let me tell you, inside the building, here, too, are people who have been committed to the progress and success of this program. So, I think it's important that you understand where I'm coming from. No, it's not a pipe dream. I spent a lot of years having a wonderful relationship with Jim Valvano. And I always remember Jim saying, ‘Don't tell me what I can't do, tell me what I can do.’ He was a believer in that. And I feel that.
“I told the seniors on Sunday afternoon that they did a wonderful job addressing the team on Friday afternoon when we got to Cincinnati. They poured their hearts out to their teammates. I told them is that they have no reason to apologize for anything that that group has done. They have fought the fight. They have fought hard. And they are so respected by their teammates, in their efforts and everything that they have given to this program. I told them, too, that the mistake that can be made so often is that you build your esteem on your successes or your failures. No, it's not about that because sometimes you can't control that. It's about how you go about your work and this group needs to realize how much respect they have earned from the people who really know about this program. The way that they have gone about their work has been very, very impressive to me. And it has made every day of this season easy to come to work. I made that point to them. I said to them, they have had to overcome tough, tough situations. They have competed at the highest, highest level over a four-year period of time. You (the media) know. They have had to compete at a higher level than any other BIG EAST team, byyour standards, as you have written about how the schedule rates. These kids have had to fight the fight. They have seen it as a challenge and I compliment them. They never quit. This team, until the end of the Cincinnati game, they were still clawing and scratching. They've had some setbacks as a football team, alright. In 2006, we finally won a few games, but in 2007, to lose Delone (Carter) and Curtis (Brinkley), that's tough on a football team. It changes your dimensions. Then all of a sudden in 2008, you think you have Taj Smith and Mike Williams coming back and Danny Sheeran's had a good spring and all of a sudden he goes down in training camp and all of a sudden your receiving corps has been depleted. It all of a sudden changes the dimensions of your team. That's a challenge. They've had to fight the fight, but they've never blinked. I want them to leave with their heads held high. They should be and you should all understand that. I really feel that way.
“I have fought and fought and fought. I do believe that. The infrastructure's been built. Academically, I believe we've gone beyond graduation rates. The way that we are educating our student-athletes right now, there is education going on here. Socially, this football team has really learned to understand how important of a responsibility they have to this University and to stand on the shoulders of those before them. Over the four-year period of time, I commend them as they've done a good job. As far as football is concerned, I know that the infrastructure is built. The pundits, you can have your own opinions, but I'm telling you, it's all over the place. And even after a time when it was a tough last winter, we still pulled in a wonderful recruiting class. And you know it. They are good football players, they don't all have to be five-star. The only five-star we really had went down before he could even get started, in Jermaine Pierce. I know that there are football players here. And contrary to some opinions, to the critics saying that they're not tough enough, baloney. They are plenty tough. That defense at Cincinnati, that's the toughest game that Cincinnati's really had. That quarterback (Tony Pike) hadn't been knocked around like that. Their longest gain was 19 yards. My point is that they're tough-minded. There were a couple of penalties that really set the offense back, including the first play the offense took the field. Anybody that watches the television replay, they saw it. The play on the goal line, you saw that, too. Those are setbacks that we weren't able to overcome. This is a group that has a lot of fight left in it and there is young talent that just needs to keep being brought along.
“Some of my players tell me, they don't know you out there. Outside that media room and the practice field, they don't know you. Well, some of you do. I coach them. I don't mean just me, but we coach them. We don't do it in a way that we don't demean or devalue, but we demand.
“I could talk for a long time about this place and about this job. It's a great place and a great school. You have some uphill battles, but that's Central New York, at times, too. That's why I don't want to quit the fight. I want to keep fighting. I came here, a guy from Los Angeles but I have lived in New York City, in Denver, in a lot of different place. Sometimes, when I come here and I talk and I listen to the people here, I feel bad, at times, for the people of Syracuse and Central New York because you have this thing that this is a negative place. It is NOT. First of all, the weather is not nearly as bad as you want to blame it to be. You go 20 miles North, and that is real snow. Okay? I'm telling you. This place is a beautiful place and it has great people, people who really care about their community. I like that. I think that is important. Those are values and this place has that in the making. That's why I like to come in here and share with you what I can see and see what you have, instead of what you don’t have. The grass isn't always greener."
Are there things about here you are not going to miss? Like the pressure?
"Oh, please (smiling). The pressure? I have no problem with the pressure. Bring it on! I'm serious … you have the wrong guy! That's the thing I wanted to tell you on Saturday. Is there some relief? Yeah, my stomach is sick. I need relief. I need a pill because I'm sick to my stomach that it's done! That's what I hate. What's in my gut. Shoot, that's the biggest regret. Pulling boxes into my office … that's ugly. It is. I'm just telling it like it is."
What about the personal comments? And not necessarily the coaching criticisms, but personal comments?
"Let me say this, that is people don't know me. Why would I sanction that? I never take any of that personally. Why would I? They don't know me. I know me and I don't have a problem with me. I have a wonderful family, I love coming to work every day, so, no, I don't take any of that stuff personally. Really, the thing I liked that Donnie McPherson said is, 'Put up or shut up.' Sometimes that critic that isn't even a season-ticket holder so yes, I might have a little frustration with that? That person doesn’t know. They have never even seen us practice, never been to the meeting room, never been through the problems. But you know what? I know it's improving. I'm in the arena as they say. I'm fighting the fight. Others who are outside of it, that's a different world. That's reality, and I understand that. I don't put people down for that. I have no problem with that. But don't think it gets to me, because it doesn't."
What's next for you?
"You know what? I really have no idea. I really haven't even given it a thought. Right now, my intent is to help my staff. I'm going to be fine, one way or the other."
When Paul Pasqualoni left, he said he wouldn't change a thing? Is there anything that you would change about this place?
"I can't tell you that I wouldn't change anything. Gosh, from the first month I was here, I'd change the decision on (quarterback) Colt Brennan. How's that? Hey, I was told to go do the homework on him. I did. I did my due diligence way past anyone would've ever thought. I'm not here to make a big deal about it, but as you take me back to right when I started here, I knew we needed a quarterback! I checked that kid out and you know what, he came in third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He decided to stay his senior year at Hawaii because he felt like those people reached out to him. I would try to retool that. I think if our people knew me better like they do know, they would've said go ahead, work with him. But that's easy to say. That would be a good way to start because that was the first guy I started recruiting."
Is there any better job in the world than being a head football coach at a University like this?
"Coach Mac (Dick MacPherson), I've loved every minute of it. I even say that this year rates as high as year as any I've been a part of, including Super Bowls, Rose Bowls and all of that. Because I really could begin to see and feel that I had a functional football team. It didn't always show to the point that I wanted it to. We talked about this a couple weeks ago that you're making decisions right and left and I liked that. I liked all the things and different hats that you wear (as head coach). And I like this place, too. I've enjoyed it. I like this community. It has great people, really great people.”
What are things that will keep you up late at night about what you didn't get finished here?
"It isn't what I didn't get done. It's that it's not finished. You can always go back to a play or this or that, but no. It's not finished. I'd like that last year. It's a work in progress. But hey, it's right there. I can show you the video. I told you last summer that our defense wasn't ready to play. But, trust me, from the Pittsburgh game on, there were flashes and flashes. Offensively? Come on, they jumped out at times. It just wasn’t consistent enough. There were a couple of times where we were really able to put it together. But at the same time, we were biting off a big old bite, too. I just think that's it's a matter of time. That's really what I believe."
What's the condition of the program now compared to what it was once you got here?
"It's different. I think the infrastructure built in here is very strong. I'm not saying it wasn’t before because the moment I do, that's putting something on (former head coach) Paul (Pasqualoni). And you know what I'm not into that. But, I know this, academically, we have changed some things to go beyond just graduating students. I've fought the fight throughout this University. I've learned. It took time to learn all the ins and outs and who this is and who that is in the academic community, but I've learned a lot from the academic community. Academic integrity, I've learned a lot. It's amazing what happens around college campuses. The dynamics and demands on students to get grades were getting out of control all over the country. This University stood up and took a stand and built an academic integrity board. They said no, it wasn't going on anymore. I think we have worked hard to educate our football team in regard to all of that. To be sure the players are educated as opposed to the end result. We've restructured. We've changed many, many things and it's very healthy. Socially, I think our players understand their responsibilities. I know athletically we are better right now. This is a football team this is ready to emerge and have success."
What do you believe is your biggest contribution to Syracuse football?
"I don't spend a lot of time think about what am I proud of, but I do know this, and I can't really say it's just me, it's them, too! I like that this still team keeps fighting. That's my own critique. Everyone else is entitled to their own opinion, but I tell you this, I get tons of feedback in that regard. That this team fights."
You mentioned earlier that you didn't know what you were getting yourself into before you took this job. Could you elaborate upon that?
"I really didn't. I knew the history and tradition of Syracuse football. I truly did. In my five years down there on Long Island, I gathered enough data to really understand that Syracuse football had great history and tradition. Then I coached the five Syracuse football players at the (New York) Jets. I liked the guys that I coached from Art (Monk) to Paul (Frase), to Pat Kelly, Rob Carpenter and Rob Moore. Then I had Eric Downing in Kansas City. They were good guys, good people. I thought that recruiting had fallen off. It just takes a little longer. You have to remember that I didn't get the first class. I didn't recruit those guys, really. It's just time. That's why I say I'd love to have one more shot."
Were the expectations played out greater than they should have been by athletics director Daryl Gross when you were hired in 2005?
"I'll tell you this, I didn't really know the depth of the teams of the BIG EAST then. About three-quarters of the way though my first year, I remember specifically I talked to (assistant coach) Scott Spencer, who came from Texas with me, and I said, my goodness, this league rivals the Big XII. No doubt about it, from head-to-toe. There were good football teams. I didn't really know anything about South Florida before coming here. Then I saw the talent level that team had. It is a very, very competitive league. Then, the schedule of the non-conference opponents that you're playing is challenging. It isn't all that easy to just say, ‘We’re just going to change the schedule.’ So my intent was to try and use it to our advantage to try to recruit players who wanted to play against Notre Dame or Washington or Southern Cal or against Boston College, Virginia Tech and whoever else is on there. Until things were going to change, that's what it was, so what do you do? You don't sit there and complain about it. You take it on."
I guess what I'm saying is that there were no favors given to you when (Dr.) Daryl (Gross) was talking championships and that there was more work that needed to be done…
"You know what? I understand Daryl. He's optimistic in his heart and he believes that. And he told me, and he's made this statement to you (the media), the things that you're going to see happen the quickest are more the Olympic sports. There have been championships and he knew that football was going to take the longest. To what extent, he couldn't have known to the depth of what it was going to take. I don't think he really could have. But I know it what is in his heart and the spirit of his competitiveness. That's fair of him. He's the athletics director and he's able to say whatever it is he has to say."
Do you feel like you will be coaching somewhere next year?
"Oh yeah. I'm going to coach. I'm going to coach football. Are you kidding me? (laughing) That darn (Christian Brothers Academy coach) Joe (Casamento). You tell him I'm breathing down his throat. You tell Casamento I'm coming after him (smiling)."
