News

Coach Rob gets encore season at Grambling - Grambling University football coach Eddie Robinson gets extension

by Craig T. Greenlee , July 5, 2007

The curtain finally closed on a week-long controversy surrounding Eddie Robinson, Grambling University's legendary football coach.


Now that the seventy-seven-year old Robinson has been granted his wish to coach one more season, the new questions become: "What will Grambling do to make the most of Robinson's last hurrah?"; and "Who will succeed him?"

Coach Rob, as he is often called, has roamed the sidelines for the G-Men for fifty-five seasons. In the process, he became the winningest coach in the history of college football with 405 career victories.

Although no announcement has been made regarding specific plans about a tour, there are three possibilities that may be considered for approval by the school in the coming weeks:

Look for a Robinson media blitz in late July when the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the league in which Grambling plays, stages its annual preseason media tour.

During the season, Grambling will play several road games in locations where the school has an alumni chapter. It is possible that the alumni chapters could devise their own programs to honor Robinson and help generate funds for the school's athletic department.

Under Robinson, more than 200 grambling players have gone on to professional careers. With so many professional alumni, there should be ample opportunity for the school to secure corporate sponsorships for any event associated with Robinson's farewell.

As to Robinson's successor, former Washington Redskins Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams is the name most frequently mentioned. Earlier this month, Grambling's president, Dr. Raymond A. Hicks, met with Robinson and suggested that the coach step down and take a vice president's position. Robinson wasn't interested and asked that he be allowed to coach one final season. But not everyone wanted Robinson to stick around for the additional year. Critics pointed to his recent losing record.

The program, which is coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in school history, has also been scrutinized by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) for alleged rules violations. Plus, there was an incident where four Grambling players were charged with raping a fifteen-year old girl.

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