Robinson found the timing ‘perfect’ for UNLV position

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Dec. 4, 1998 | 11:22 a.m.

Linda Robinson won $50 on a quarter slot machine Wednesday night at the Las Vegas Hilton.

On Thursday afternoon, it was UNLV's football program that hit the jackpot when her husband, famed former USC and Los Angeles Rams coach John Robinson, officially was introduced as the eighth head football coach in school history.

Robinson, 63, who will head into the 1999 season as the nation's sixth-winningest active coach with a career record of 104-35-4, agreed to a three-year contract that will pay him $350,000 per year.

According to UNLV athletic director Charles Cavagnaro, Robinson will have a base salary of $135,000, which is $20,000 more than his predecessor, Jeff Horton. He also will receive $125,000 per year for radio and television shows and another $90,000 for public appearances.

"I know what a total surprise this announcement will be," joked UNLV President Dr. Carol C. Harter. "I'm officially announcing that John Robinson has accepted our offer to be the next and eighth head football coach in UNLV history."

With that announcement, an overflow crowd jammed into the Richard Tam Alumni Center broke into a loud round of applause.

It was vintage Robinson after that, dazzling the crowd with answers on a variety of topics.

"I think timing is a big part of anything that happens in our lives," Robinson said. "I think the timing for me was just perfect for this particular job. I've really gotten the sense in the last couple of weeks that this city is on the move, this university is on the move, this conference is moving upward. ... I think in 10 years, the Mountain West Conference is going to be the equal of any conference in America. I think that's a safe bet.

"I've been convinced by both the president and the athletic director that they want to do the things necessary for us to reach the fullest potential that we can. How high that is ... I think it would be ridiculous for us to make some sort of lofty predictions. We're not going to make predictions. But we are going to be on the move. We are going to be second to none. We are going to recruit the best players we can and we're going to compete at the highest possible level that we can."

And he wants Rebel fans to get excited now.

"It's going to be very simple to sit back and say, 'Well, lets see if these clowns can do it or not and then I'll jump on board.'" You'll be too late, Robinson said.

"We want people who want to enjoy the adventure of trying to do something great now."

Robinson was asked if perhaps some of the players he recruited to USC during his last stint (1993-97) might be interested in making the four-hour drive east to UNLV now that he has returned to coaching.

"I don't think that's right for me to comment on," Robinson said. "Those are decisions that individuals make. I'm sure they're happy at USC. That's a decision each person has to make on their own."

Robinson, who flew to Miami this morning to do a radio broadcast of Saturday's UCLA-Miami game for Pacific Sports radio network, said he hoped to have his staff in place "as soon as possible."

He reportedly has already lined up Oregon State defensive line coach Jeff McInerney to be his defensive coordinator and Northern Arizona assistant Joe Barry, a former USC linebacker and the son of ex-USC and current University of Tennessee offensive line coach Mike Barry, to coach the linebackers.

Robinson said he was still awaiting a decision from Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford on whether he wants to become assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Rebels.

Sanford, considered one of college football's top recruiters, was on the road Thursday recruiting for the Fighting Irish and could not be reached for comment.

Robinson said rumors that Horton would be offered a position on his staff were false.

Robinson, who spent most of Thursday touring the city with his wife looking for a home to buy, plans to return to Las Vegas on Tuesday when he will also address team members for the first time.

Cavagnaro, who had set a Christmas deadline for hiring a coach, moved up that timetable quite a bit when he learned Robinson was interested. He credited a Nov. 20 Las Vegas Sun column, which reported Robinson's interest in the job, as a key selling point with his 16-member search committee.

"It did help," he said. "It's one thing to look at media guide (biographies). That (the Sun story) was something that laid things out there for them."

A meeting with Robinson was set up a few days later in Las Vegas. Then last Sunday, Cavagnaro flew to Southern California and spent the day at Robinson's Laguna Niguel townhouse.

"We just needed to have some time to visit and get to know each other," Cavagnaro said. "We had to get comfortable with each other and go over a few things that came up."

Robinson was contacted by the University of Hawaii about their head coaching vacancy the following day but decided to concentrate on the UNLV opening. He flew into Las Vegas on Wednesday morning to finalize his contract and meet with search committee members.

The Robinsons, Cavagnaro and Harter celebrated the agreement with a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that night.

After the meal, Linda Robinson got lucky on the slot machine at the Hilton.

"Hopefully that's a sign of good times to come here," she said with a smile.