Memories of Robinson, Madden
When I heard Monday that former coach John Robinson passed, it was like the other shoe dropping.
Robinson and John Madden were best friends since childhood in Daly City, California, just south of San Francisco. They grew up playing every sport imaginable in what was known as Madden’s Lot in their tight suburban neighborhood. Ever the competitors, sometimes they just made up games.
Some might say they grew up together, but the reality is they never grew up. As pre-teens they were already positive they would play professional sports together. At first, it was baseball, but football became their big love.
“Our plan was to play for the Yankees and the 49ers,” Robinson said in a recent interview.
I lived about seven miles away, across the city line in San Francisco. They were a decade-plus older than me, but my stepbrother was their age and played baseball against them and told tales of these two jokers in Daly City. Even back then, as pre-high schoolers, they stood out.
But their dream of playing professional sports together never came true.
One John settled for becoming a Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach who won a Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders. The other settled on becoming a College Football Hall of Fame coach with two sensational stints at USC as well as a successful run with the Los Angeles Rams.
During my long relationship with Madden, I had the good fortune to know Robinson. He was Madden’s assistant coach for one season with the Raiders. Near the end of that season Madden called me into the locker room where Robinson was sitting.
“Cooney, everything that is said here is off the record, so don’t run out and write some damned scoop,” Madden said. “John was just hired as head coach of USC, and he wants to put together a good staff of assistants. You’ve been covering college football, Cal, Stanford and you must know some good young coaches.”
I made a couple of recommendations, including Paul Hackett, who had a big part in maximizing the abilities of Cal quarterback Steve Bartkowski. Bart, as he was known, was thinking of dropping football for some fast cash playing baseball, where he was a home-run hitting first baseman. Hackett convinced Bart he had quick feet, which he did not, and that he could be a great pro player. He made All-American and was drafted No. 1 by Atlanta in the 1975 NFL draft.
Robinson hired Hackett as an offensive coach, and the Trojans won the Rose Bowl after the 1976 season. Paul went on to a busy and successful college and pro career with numerous teams. His son, Nathaniel, is Aaron Rodgers’ coach with the New York Jets.
I was on the Madden Cruiser with Robinson a few times as the two Johns talked about everything, especially old times in Daly City.
Robinson remembered a baseball game when Madden was the catcher and the first batter, a lefty, dragged a bunt down the first base line.
“You had to get your fat ass out of that catcher’s stance and chase the ball, that was a sight,” Robinson said. “So you get the ball and throw the hell out of it, into deep right field. The batter went all the way around and scored easily. So, the way I see it, you threw a home run.”
That started them chuckling. Then Madden remembered one time they were playing basketball and Robinson tried a jump shot as time ran out.
“An air ball, nothing but nothing,” Madden said as he increased his laughing. Soon they were both red-faced and laughing so hard tears were running down their faces. They were fun to be around, these two failed pro players.
Madden passed on Dec. 28, 2021. His buddy John died from complications of pneumonia Monday. Everybody knows about Madden’s achievements, including football, video games and broadcasting. Robinson also had a hell of a career.
In football, Robinson is high on the short list of coaches who enjoyed significant success in both the college and pro ranks. He went 104-35-4 at USC and 75-68 with the Rams, winning postseason games and contending for championships regularly with both teams. Robinson was particularly successful in bowl games, going 8-1 in the postseason with USC and UNLV.
Robinson was a member of the College Football Hall of Fame for his two successful tenures at USC. He also became the winningest coach in Rams history during his nine-year tenure with the NFL club. Sean McVay passed Robinson's career victories total only last month.
Robinson coached at USC from 1976 to 1982 and again from 1993 to 1997. He never had a losing record at the school, and his Trojans won five conference titles and four Rose Bowls. Running backs Charles White (1979) and Marcus Allen (1981) won the Heisman Trophy while playing in Robinson's relentless rushing offenses.
Robinson moved to the Rams in 1983 and reached the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons, winning four playoff games and advancing to two NFC Championship Games.
Robinson spent six seasons coaching UNLV after his second USC tenure, also serving a stint as the Rebels' athletic director. He was most recently a senior consultant at LSU from 2019 to 2021 during the tenure of head coach Ed Orgeron.
Robinson was born July 25, 1935, in Chicago, and he grew up in Daly City with Madden. He played tight end on Oregon's 1958 Rose Bowl championship team before beginning his coaching career with the Ducks.
Robinson became John McKay's offensive coordinator at USC in 1972, coaching the unbeaten 1972 consensus national championship team and the 1974 team that went 10-1-1. Robinson left the Trojans for one year to join Madden with the Oakland Raiders, but returned to USC in 1976 when McKay took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Robinson coached USC to seven outstanding seasons, winning the Pac-8 or Pac-10 titles and the Rose Bowl in three of his first four years in charge. His 1978 team was named national champions by the UPI Coaches Poll, while Bear Bryant's Alabama won the AP title. He coached a long list of stars during his tenure, from White and Allen to Pro Football Hall of Famers Anthony Munoz, Ronnie Lott and Bruce Matthews.
Robinson kept winning in 1983 when he moved to the Rams, who played their home games in Anaheim, California. With an offense led by Eric Dickerson, Robinson's teams racked up six playoff appearances and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions in two conference title games.
Robinson's second tenure at USC included a fourth Rose Bowl victory, but the school dismissed him following the 1997 season.
Robinson then coached UNLV from 1999-2004, taking over a program that had lost 16 games in a row. He got the Rebels to only the third bowl appearance in school history in just his second season, but Robinson stepped away after the 2004 season with a 28-42 record at the school. One of his more notable victories was a 23-5 win at No. 14 Wisconsin in 2003.
Robinson is survived by his wife, Beverly, his four children, two stepchildren and 10 grandchildren. A celebration of Robinson's life will be held following the college football season, in accordance with his wishes.
Some information is from AP