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Syracuse Fires Losing Football Coach

November 17, 2008 1:05 PM

ABC News On Campus reporter Matt Gelb blogs:

The inevitable happened Sunday: Greg Robinson was fired as Syracuse’s head coach after four dismal years at the helm of a once-great program that has turned into a laughingstock.

Robinson, who will coach the team in its final two games this season, is 9-36 at Syracuse. He is still owed $1.1 million next year, the final year in his contract.

“As always, I'm optimistic, and I think with more time I could do better,” Robinson said. “But at the same time, I understand the situation with the university and where things are at this time.”

Robinson met with Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross  Sunday morning and was informed of the decision. The head coach met with his captains before addressing the entire team.

“I wasn’t surprised,” junior quarterback Andrew Robinson, who is not related to the coach, said. “Like most people, I kind of expected it. We’re not immune to the outside world and the media. So, I wasn’t really surprised, but I certainly was disappointed.”

The 57-year-old Robinson came to Syracuse in 2005 with an extensive NFL resume  but had spent just one year in the college game since 1990. It was his first head coaching job.

Gross said the timing made sense because Syracuse (2-8) had fallen out of bowl contention for the fourth straight year, and it was necessary to end the rumors and speculation surrounding the program.

Syracuse visits Notre Dame this weekend and finishes at Cincinnati in two weeks.

Many former Syracuse players have called for change and suggested candidates for the head coaching job.

Jim Brown, the former legendary Syracuse tailback, told The Daily Orange, "It's a great day, because we have an opportunity to start anew and work together with the new coach."

Gross can now officially start the public search for the next head coach.

“We need someone that has the capability to win,” Gross said. “And that’s the bottom line. We’ll find that person.”

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