John Robinson, one of Southern California’s most successful and famous football coaches, died Monday at the age of 89, the school announced.
He died in Baton Rouge, La., from complications stemming from pneumonia.
Robinson compiled a 104-35-4 record over two separate tenures as head football coach at USC, winning a national championship with the Trojans in 1978. The 104 wins put him at third place in all-time wins at the school behind John McKay and Howard Jones.
Robinson never had a losing season at USC in 12 seasons. His first team, in 1976, went 11-1 and won the Rose Bowl, finishing No. 2 in the AP poll.
After a dip to 8-4 in 1977, Robinson put together a two-year run of 23-1-1 in 1978-79, winning two more Rose Bowls and a national championship as designated by the coaches’ poll in 1978.
He coached another three seasons during that first tenure, producing such noted NFL stars as Marcus Allen, Ricky Bell, Charles White, Clay Matthews and Joey Browner. Allen and White both won the Heisman Trophy while playing for Robinson.
In 1983, Robinson was handed the reins to the Los Angeles Rams and twice advanced to the NFC Championship Game in his tenure there (1983-1991), going 75-68.
The Trojans re-hired Robinson for the 1993 season. While his second stint at USC did not produce the same highs, he did earn three more bowl wins over five seasons, including wins in the Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl.
His head coaching career wrapped in Las Vegas with UNLV, where he went 28-42 over six years.
He also became a consultant with LSU and was present for the Tigers’ national title in 2019.
Overall, Robinson finished with an 8-1 record in bowl games over 18 seasons as a head coach.
–Field Level Media
