More on Greg Robinson
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Now that Michigan has hired a new defensive coordinator, many questions exist going into the future. First, who is Greg Robinson?
Most recently, Robinson was the head coach that ran the Syracuse football program into the ground, going a pathetic 10-37 in four seasons. He did coach the Orange to an upset victory over Notre Dame this past season, but that was really one of the only positive moments during his tenure. To put it nicely, Robinson is not a very good head coach.
Here’s the good news: Robinson does have a long track record as an assistant in both college and the NFL. He was UCLA’s defensive line coach from 1982-1988, a time when the Bruins had much success. Before jumping to the NFL in 1990, he was UCLA’s offensive coordinator in ’89. I’m not exactly sure why he went from coaching the defensive line to offensive coordinator, but it unsurprisingly didn’t really work out well.
From 1990-1993, Robinson coached the defensive line for the Jets. He became the Jets’ defensive coordinator in 1994 and then had that same job with the Broncos from 1995-2000. While in Denver, the Broncos won two Super Bowls and had defenses that were both great and average depending on the season. Eventually, Robinson ended up moving on to Kansas City from 2000-2003 and struggled, to say the least. Part of the problem was a lack of talent, but his three years in KC did not go well, leading to a return to the college game.
Robinson was the defensive coordinator of the 2004 Texas team, which Michigan fans should remember because of the 2005 Rose Bowl. Michigan actually racked up 37 points against Texas in that game, led by Chad Henne and Mike Hart, who were both true freshmen, and Braylon Edwards, who caught three TDs. Steve Breaston also played a big part in the game by setting a Rose Bowl record for return yards.
Texas’ defense that season was decent, but it actually improved statistically in 2005 after Robinson left. Part of that is because Vince Young became such a great player in 2005, which made life a little bit easier for Texas’ defense. Plus, only one season doesn’t exactly tell you a whole lot. Just because Michigan’s defense stunk this past season doesn’t mean Scott Shafer is a horrendous coach, for example. You can only take so much away from one season.
Following his one season with Texas, Robinson became Syracuse’s head coach, and well, I’ve already discussed that. He was fired after this past season and speculation about his future included rumors of him returning to the NFL or college as an assistant. As we now know, the latter turned out to be accurate speculation, as he is now Michigan’s defensive coordinator.
I’m not necessarily in favor of or against this hire, as I’m honestly just not sure what to think. Robinson has had success and failure in his coaching career, though failing as a head coach says nothing about him as a defensive coordinator. Some coaches are just better as coordinators, so I’m really not too concerned about how bad he was at Syracuse. However, recruiting-wise I am not exactly confident in Robinson’s abilities. Nothing has shown to me that he will be a great recruiter, but honestly, I don’t care all that much. I would rather have a defensive coordinator that is a great coach instead of one that is a great recruiter.
In the short-term, the biggest thing to keep an eye on is what happens to the rest of the defensive coaching staff. The only coach that could end up leaving is Jay Hopson, based on the fact that he is from the south and there are some rumors about him getting offers to return to the south. If Hopson were to leave, it would likely mean that defensive tackle commits Pearlie Graves and DeQuinta Jones, who were recruited by Hopson, would opt to go somewhere else. Both already have been taking visits and don’t even sound like they are all that committed to Michigan anyways, so losing Hopson would probably result in them decommitting. Both may do that even if Hopson stays; it’s just more likely they will decommit if he goes.
In the long-term, obviously the thing to watch is what happens with the defense. I doubt that it could get any worse than last season, but that’s not saying much considering last year’s defense was the worst in Michigan history. If I had to make a prediction about a Greg Robinson type of defense, my guess is that it won’t ever be one of the elite defenses in the country, but it won’t ever be worse than average, either.
I would take an average to above average defense after last season, especially if the offense gets better. Michigan will win more than 3 games with a decent offense and a decent defense. Down the road, obviously the hope is that Michigan will win much more than three games. For right now, though, the next step in rebuilding is to simply make a bowl game. With Greg Robinson coaching the defense, I think that is much more of a possibility than it would have been with Scott Shafer at the helm.
For more on Shafer, check out Varsity Blue and MGoBlue, which has comments from Texas coach Mack Brown and former Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson in the article.
The reality is, if any candidate is a true DC stud, then he wouldn’t be coming here as our coordinator he would be named as someone’s head coach. However, if we end up with a stud as a coordinator, he’s gone in a year or two for the same reason. So basically we’re looking for a guy who can do a good job keeping us within games for the long term, which “could” be GR or someone like him.
Well, it looks like Pete Carroll was considering Robinson to replace Nick Holt.
Mack Brown, Pete Carroll and RR seem to see the upside with Greg Robinson. Why shouldn’t we?
http://usc.freedomblogging.com/2009/01/07/usc-football-report-says-orgeron-offered-d-coordinator-position/8222/#more-8222
Sean, my friend (I hope I can call you that), you’ve kind of missed the boat on this one. I’ve enjoyed your site for a couple of months now. Despite the difficulties, I’m about as excited about M football as I have been in a while. I don’t think anyone ever said that RR was a total marketing genius or even the most mature or experienced guy around, but as a successful football coach with probably his best years ahead, his background is as good as it gets. I have done some writing on BleacherReport and my own websites because I think it is a great, happening-now story.
I pretty much stopped going to the recruiting sites and elsewhere to keep up on the news (I never did it before in my life) because your site covers it all in one place. No way could I do it better.
Regarding Greg Robinson, I followed it from the first rumor. Are you kidding me? Who wouldn’t be thrilled to have one of a handful of bests at what he does? Could you write a better defensive coordinator resume? Experience, top organizations, success and failure. I know of him from his days with the Broncos. Super Bowl trophies don’t come easily. Sure it is probably not a career move for him but, all associated would be wise to benefit while you can; a player or recruit would be crazy to say they aren’t going to gain from it. It shows that M is a destination rather than a has been. For RR, to me it says he is connected and respected, and as something of a first, I even liked his press release! Those who left can badmouth the “Michigan family” all they want. Are they gonna want to play ‘em?
Peter
Evergreen, CO
Michigan Alum
Sean, my friend (I hope I can call you that), you’ve kind of missed the boat on this one. I’ve enjoyed your site for a couple of months now. Despite the difficulties, I’m about as excited about M football as I have been in a while. I don’t think anyone ever said that RR was a total marketing genius or even the most mature or experienced guy around, but as a successful football coach with probably his best years ahead, his background is as good as it gets. I have done some writing on BleacherReport and my own websites because I think it is a great, happening-now story.
I pretty much stopped going to the recruiting sites and elsewhere to keep up on the news (I never did it before in my life) because your site covers it all in one place. No way could I do it better.
Regarding Greg Robinson, I followed it from the first rumor. Are you kidding me? Who wouldn’t be thrilled to have one of a handful of bests at what he does? Could you write a better defensive coordinator resume? Experience, top organizations, success and failure. I know of him from his days with the Broncos. Super Bowl trophies don’t come easily. Sure it is probably not a career move for him but, all associated would be wise to benefit while you can; a player or recruit would be crazy to say they aren’t going to gain from it. It shows that M is a destination rather than a has been. For RR, to me it says he is connected and respected, and as something of a first, I even liked his press release! Those who left can badmouth the “Michigan family” all they want. Are they gonna want to play ‘em?
Peter
Evergreen, CO
Michigan Alum
Peter, we hope you are right!!!