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Brandt on Eddie Robinson
By Gil Brandt
NFL.com Senior Analyst
Gil Brandt reflects on the passing of Eddie Robinson and provides his memories of the legendary Grambling coach.
(April 4, 2007) -- I first heard of Eddie Robinson on a personal basis in the late 1950s from a player on the Los Angeles Rams named Paul "Tank" Younger, who was the first player from an all-black school to play in the NFL and had been a player for Robinson at Grambling. Younger told me what a great man Robinson was.
[FONT=arial,helvetica]NFL Network video[/FONT]
In 1971, Eddie had two players who were picked in the first round of the draft and two in the second round. For a small school, that is very impressive. He also coached four players who went on to the Hall of Fame: Willie Davis, Charlie Joyner, Buck Buchanan and Willie Brown. Another proud alumnus is Doug Williams, who went on to be a Super Bowl MVP.
Grambling was a Division I-AA school, but twice Robinson played against Oregon State of the Pac-10. In 1975, the two faced off in Portland and Grambling won. Ten years later, they scheduled a rematch and Grambling won again. The significance behind the second victory was that it was Robinson's 323rd victory, tying him with Bear Bryant for the all-time coaching wins record.
Eddie survived by raising money, plain and simple. He agreed to play games anywhere and everywhere. Grambling played in the Cotton Bowl, Tokyo, Chicago, the L.A. Coliseum, Yankee Stadium, the Meadowlands, just about anywhere where he could raise money for the school.
Whenever I heard Eddie was coming to Dallas, I would always do the same thing. I'd go buy a dozen roses and deliver them to his hotel room for his wife, Doris. Later on, while other teams would have a hard time getting film from Grambling due to the costs, we would never have an issue.
Eddie Robinson was both innovative and creative and he took something small and made it into a nationally recognized institution. He will be missed.
By Gil Brandt
NFL.com Senior Analyst
Gil Brandt reflects on the passing of Eddie Robinson and provides his memories of the legendary Grambling coach.
(April 4, 2007) -- I first heard of Eddie Robinson on a personal basis in the late 1950s from a player on the Los Angeles Rams named Paul "Tank" Younger, who was the first player from an all-black school to play in the NFL and had been a player for Robinson at Grambling. Younger told me what a great man Robinson was.
[FONT=arial,helvetica]NFL Network video[/FONT]
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When I joined the Cowboys, we would regularly schedule trips to Grambling because we knew the players there were productive. For example, during Robinson's career, Grambling had more than 200 players that were either drafted or signed as free agents into the NFL. Of the 200, 99 played at least one or more games in the NFL. To give you a point of comparison, Texas Tech had 91 players play in the NFL during that timeframe. In 1971, Eddie had two players who were picked in the first round of the draft and two in the second round. For a small school, that is very impressive. He also coached four players who went on to the Hall of Fame: Willie Davis, Charlie Joyner, Buck Buchanan and Willie Brown. Another proud alumnus is Doug Williams, who went on to be a Super Bowl MVP.
Grambling was a Division I-AA school, but twice Robinson played against Oregon State of the Pac-10. In 1975, the two faced off in Portland and Grambling won. Ten years later, they scheduled a rematch and Grambling won again. The significance behind the second victory was that it was Robinson's 323rd victory, tying him with Bear Bryant for the all-time coaching wins record.
Eddie survived by raising money, plain and simple. He agreed to play games anywhere and everywhere. Grambling played in the Cotton Bowl, Tokyo, Chicago, the L.A. Coliseum, Yankee Stadium, the Meadowlands, just about anywhere where he could raise money for the school.
Whenever I heard Eddie was coming to Dallas, I would always do the same thing. I'd go buy a dozen roses and deliver them to his hotel room for his wife, Doris. Later on, while other teams would have a hard time getting film from Grambling due to the costs, we would never have an issue.
Eddie Robinson was both innovative and creative and he took something small and made it into a nationally recognized institution. He will be missed.
