Dec. 19, 2000
By Jon Saraceno
USA TODAY
LAS VEGAS - Long before there was something called the Humanitarian Bowl or the Silicon Valley Bowl or, heaven forbid, the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl, there was the Rose Bowl. Back in the day at the University of Southern California, John Robinson won the "Granddaddy of 'em All" four times during his dozen seasons.
It wasn't until the '90s, during his second reign at the Pac-10 school, that the wheels came off the Trojan horse for Robinson. His popularity eroded with mounting losses until his ugly exile three years ago.
"Whether it's for selfish reasons, or you're taking on too much, the thing in coaching that's hard over a period of time is the regimen," Robinson said Tuesday. "You can see it in coaches that have established themselves and then go into a slump. Coaches hide it -- they lie about it. Sometimes you screw it up yourself, sometimes others make it hard. The school had changed a lot and needed new solutions. I should've left after the Rose Bowl (win) against Northwestern (in 1995). I knew it was a bad scene."
A year after his departure, Robinson found himself in the land of showgirls, scorpions and $3.99 sirloins. He wasn't wandering in the desert, he knew what he wanted: Viva Las Vegas. He wanted to build a team. He wanted excitement and entertainment, good food and great golf, he wanted to be near his grandkids in California. He wanted to call his own plays.
Two years ago, Robinson took the UNLV job. Instant credibility for the school, hardly a gamble for the coach who remembered how Jerry Tarkanian had once owned the strip.
"I do play the slots. Last night, I walked through the MGM and lost $10 in about 40 seconds," he said. "This is a fun city. I needed to be stimulated. I'm not good at reflecting. When you get older, you can define your own fun. You couldn't pry me out of this place."
At 65, the scent of the roses is long gone, replaced by the warm glow of neon. Robinson enjoys coaching, and life, once again.
He will coach his first postseason game in five years Thursday night with a gifted quarterback, Jason Thomas, that he originally recruited to -- you guessed it -- Southern Cal when UNLV plays Arkansas in the Las Vegas Bowl. Unfortunately, no one's going hog-wild and ticket sales may reach only 30,000.
The Grateful Dead used to sell out in Vegas at the drop of a well, you get the point. With the Rebels, the town is asleep at the roulette wheel. UNLV averaged 20,698 this season, a decrease of nearly 2,500 from a year ago for a team playing in its first bowl in six years. Luring locals out of their watering holes and away from video poker is harder than locating an Elvis impersonator.
"We need to get those transplanted New Yorkers who are sports fans and put their tails in our seats," he said.
This Vegas stuff is a far cry from Robinson's glory days of white horses, Heisman Trophy-winning running backs and a national championship. The Rebels didn't even have a football team until 1968. Three years ago, they were 0-11. When Robinson accepted the job , he called an old friend back in Michigan.
"When I told Bo (Schembechler), he said, 'You did what ?' "
Meanwhile, Robinson makes strides toward his goal of a top-25 program. That is not a misprint. He'll try it with kids who don't qualify academically at better schools, with JC players and transfers.
"I know, I'm making stupid statements again," Robinson laughs. "But when you're in a difficult situation, you have to put yourself on the line. You have to have a theme or a vision. Otherwise, there's nothing to sell."
Some consider his vision a mirage.
For Robinson, this is nirvana.
