USC legendary coach John Robinson dead at 89

Former USC head coach John Robinson has died at the age of 89, the program announced on Monday afternoon. Robinson is one of the more decorated coaches in school history, guiding the Trojans to a national championship during the 1978 season.

“John Robinson, one of USC’s most popular and successful football coaches, died today (Monday, Nov. 11) in Baton Rouge, La. of complications from pneumonia,” a statement from USC said. “He was 89.”

There were three different stints with USC throughout his career. Before taking over as the head coach in 1976, he was the offensive coordinator from 1972-1974. A one-year stop with the Oakland Raiders took place as the running back’s coach.

Robinson left USC to be the Los Angeles Rams head coach in 1983 and stayed in the NFL for eight years. The Trojans welcomed him back for five seasons beginning in 1993. In total, Robinson won five Pac-8/Pac-10 titles along with four Rose Bowls.

He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2003. USC is a program with a storied history with the Rose Bowl and Robinson was certainly one of their best coaches in the game.

The last coaching stop Robinson made was in Las Vegas with the UNLV Rebels. Staying out West, Robinson coached in the Sin City for six years. However, there was just one winning season but it was a successful one, getting a Las Vegas Bowl victory in 2000 — being UNLV’s third-ever bowl game at the time.

USC’s statement mentioned Robinson passing away in Baton Rouge. His final coaching job was with LSU under head coach Ed Orgeron, serving as a senior consultant to the team. Robinson began his time with the Tigers in 2019 — a national championship-winning one — and ended in 2021, the same season Orgeron was fired.

“After coaching, he did analysis on college football national radio broadcasts and was a development officer with the USC athletic department,” USC’s statement said. “He also served as a senior consultant with the LSU football program when the Tigers won the national title in 2019.”

Robinson is survived by his wife, Beverly, along with four children (daughters Terry Medina and Lynne Sierra and sons David and Chris), two stepchildren (Jennifer Bohle and Jeffrey Ezell), and 10 grandchildren (Raimond, Reanne, Andrew, Matthew, Jeremy, Ryan, Jason, Pierce, Preston and Evangeline).

The coach will have a celebration of life but it will take place following the college football season, one of Robinson’s requests.