The news that Syracuse will retain Greg Robinson as head football coach reached the SU community late Wednesday afternoon, as students filed home from classes and residents got out of work.

Director of Athletics Daryl Gross said in a press release that despite his disappointment with the season, Robinson will return next season. As television screens across the Hill brought the news to Syracuse students, faculty and fans, reactions to the decision to bring back the 7-28 coach were mostly negative.

‘It’s been three years in a row where we’ve won, like, two or three games,’ said Jonathan Shew, a junior music industry major. ‘Syracuse is supposed to be a powerhouse, you know? And he just hasn’t proved it.

‘He’s proved to us that he’s not good enough to be a head coach.’

Shew has been at Syracuse for all three years of the Greg Robinson era – the worst three-year stretch in the history of the program, in terms of winning percentage. But Shew said it’s not always about wins and losses. It might have cost the university an estimated $3 million to buy out the rest of the coach’s contract.

‘His contract is so big, it would be a waste of money if they got anyone new,’ Shew said. ‘I think on that standpoint, moneywise, it’s smart, but for the schoolwise, it’s not.’

For Syracuse fan Greg Ghysel, Robinson’s performance alone warrants a change. As the Rochester native stood in Chuck’s drinking a beer and watching his friends play pool, he lamented the current state of the program.

‘You have to produce,’ Ghysel, 39, said. ‘The tradition that SU has had through the years, to have two of his three seasons be the two worst seasons ever at SU. He should be done.’

Ghysel and his friends fondly recalled the days of Donovan McNabb, SU’s quarterback from 1995-98 who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. Back in those days, Ghysel said he would usually make it to four games per year. But those days are gone.

‘I won’t go to one game next year,’ Ghysel said. ‘…I went to one this year, but I didn’t even want to go to that one. They suck.’

At the Syracuse basketball game against Massachusetts on Wednesday, the crowd’s sentiment was not only against Robinson, but also against Gross. Throughout the game, portions of the crowd erupted into chants of ‘Fire Gross’ and ‘Fire Robinson.’

For others, the decision was not as simple. Junior entrepreneurship and retail major John Dwyer agreed that the decision was not a simple one. While the performance has been poor, Robinson has only been able to work two of his own recruiting classes into his West Coast offense.

‘I mean, he hasn’t gotten a chance to play with his recruiting class, I understand that whole side,’ Dwyer said. ‘But we are in the generation where if you’re bad for two seasons, you get fired. So it’s kind of hard.’

The college football world has seen no fewer than seven coaches either get fired or resign this season, which still has one week remaining, plus bowl games. Many of those coaches had far more successful tenures than Robinson, but Dwyer said he agreed with Gross’ notion that a program needs stability.

‘I honestly don’t mind teams that keep coaches around for a while,’ Dwyer said. ‘But I understand that hurts the program.’

Katelyn Schultz, a sophomore public relations major, said she thinks too many people are looking to the wrong sources for the answer to the Robinson question. She thinks the players should have a say in the decision, and from reading newspapers, she thinks they aren’t as disappointed as the fans are. That should give Robinson at least one more shot, Schultz said.

But with the season in the books, all Syracuse football fans can do is wait the eight months until next season to see if the decision will be a fruitful one. But whether the embattled coach will show any improvement is anyone’s guess.

‘I hope so,’ Shew said. ‘That’s the best I can say.’

Published on November 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm