A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Legendary football coach John Robinson died yesterday at the age of 89. He coached the University of Southern California, reaching the College Football Hall of Fame. Later, he wound up coaching the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. Steve Futterman takes a look back at his career.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: This was John Robinson on New Year's Day 1996 after USC beat Northwestern in the Rose Bowl.
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JOHN ROBINSON: On behalf of our players and our fans, this is a great day. It was a great football game, and our guys deserved it.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That's right.
(CHEERING)
FUTTERMAN: In 12 years as the Southern Cal coach, Robinson had great success with a winning record of more than 70%. In all but two seasons, his team finished in the national rankings. His most successful year was 1978. S.C. won 11 games with one tie, capping things off with a win over Michigan.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #1: And there's John Robinson. Seventeen to 10, the final score. USC won it.
FUTTERMAN: In those days before the College Football Playoff, S.C. ended up sharing the '78 title with Alabama. One of the stars of that team was defensive back Ronnie Lott.
RONNIE LOTT: John Robinson coached the person. Here was a guy who had a way of making you feel like, boy, you could be a champ.
FUTTERMAN: Lott was one of 24 first-team all-Americans coached by Robinson at S.C., including two Heisman Trophy winners, Marcus Allen and Charles White. In 1983, Robinson made the sometimes difficult move from college to the NFL, taking over the Los Angeles Rams. He had success there, too, developing a powerful running game led by Eric Dickerson.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #2: All the way out to the 39.
(CHEERING)
FUTTERMAN: In 1984, Dickerson ran for 2,105 yards. It's still the single-season record. Twice, Robinson took the Rams to the NFC championship game, but he could never get to the Super Bowl.
For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles.
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