Winning is everything?

ou have to wonder if a disclaimer should be placed on every coach’s contract: "Acceptance of this contract requires that every season must be a winning season. Failure to achieve such a goal will result in unexpected consequences."

Then again, those unexpected consequences are really expected, the loss of the job.

The ranks of the coaching profession lost a great person with the death of former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson.

Coach Robinson retired in 1997 after three losing seasons for a program that had produced many winning seasons and over 200 professional football players. Among those players were Tank Younger, the first NFL player to come from a predominantly Black college; and Super Bowl MVP and first Black quarterback to lead a team to that pinnacle, Doug Williams.

Unfortunately, the end for Coach Robinson was not a highlight of his distinguished career. The 1995 season saw Grambling finish with a losing record at 5-6 followed by a 3-8 1996 campaign. The 1996 season was overshadowed by recruiting violations and charges of rape against several players.

Continued...