Legendary College and NFL Coach John Robinson Passes Away at 89

John Robinson, the beloved football coach known for his successful tenure at the University of Southern California and with the Los Angeles Rams, has passed away at the age of 89.

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According to a USC release, Robinson died in Baton Rouge, La. of complications from pneumonia. He is survived by his wife Beverly, his four children (daughters Terry Medina and Lynne Sierra and sons David and Chris) and two stepchildren (Jennifer Bohle and Jeffrey Ezell), and 10 grandchildren (Raimond, Reanne, Andrew, Matthew, Jeremy, Ryan, Jason, Pierce, Preston and Evangeline).

John Alexander Robinson, born July 25, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois, moved to Provo, Utah, at six and then to Daly City, California, at nine. There, he attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic school, where he became friends with future Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden. They were two outgoing personalities — “two doofuses,” as Robinson would often joke — who shared a passion for football and eventually climbed the ranks to the top of the NFL.

Robinson began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Oregon, where he served as an assistant coach from 1960 to 1971. In 1972, he moved to USC as offensive coordinator under head coach John McKay, leading the Trojans to a 31–3–2 record, three Pac-8 titles, and three Rose Bowl appearances, winning two and claiming national championships in 1972 and 1974.

Former USC star Paul McDonald, the quarterback of Robinson’s 1978 national title team, said of his coach (via New York Times), “I think the thing that I’ll remember about Coach Robinson is that the bar was very, very high in terms of expectations, and he was right in the middle of it. He wasn’t one of these guys who stood in the tower. He was in the middle of the action, demonstrating how to block, how to tackle, how to move. He really loved the physicality of the game. That’s what he was drawn to, and because of that, we were an incredibly physical team. He instilled this whole philosophy of wearing the other guys down, and that was really smart, because you don’t win games with flash. You win games with punching people in the mouth.”

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In 1975, Robinson joined the Oakland Raiders as running backs coach, reuniting with his former USC assistant, Madden, who was now head coach. The Raiders finished 11–3 and reached the AFC Championship Game but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

When McKay left USC in 1976 to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Robinson took over as head coach of the Trojans. Over the next seven years, he led USC to three conference titles, five bowl appearances, and three Rose Bowl victories (1977, 1979, and 1980), culminating in a national championship in 1979. Robinson stepped down in 1982 with a 67–14–2 record.

Robinson then became head coach of the Los Angeles Rams in 1983, succeeding Ray Malavasi. He quickly made an impact, leading the team to the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons and reaching two NFC Championship Games, though both were losses to the eventual Super Bowl champions—the 1985 Chicago Bears and 1989 San Francisco 49ers.

Robinson’s emphasis on the running game was highlighted by drafting Eric Dickerson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. Dickerson rushed for over 7,200 yards in just four seasons, setting a still-standing NFL record with 2,105 yards in 1984.

Despite Robinson’s success, the Rams struggled after the 1989 NFC Championship loss, and after a 5–11 season in 1990 and a 3–13 mark in 1991, Robinson was fired. He remains the Rams’ all-time leader in career victories with 79. Robinson’s legacy includes mentoring future NFL coaching greats like Norv Turner, Hudson Houck, and Gil Haskell, cementing his influence on the game.

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