Columnist Ron Kantowski: This coach made a mark even with losing record

Monday, Sept. 27, 2004 | 10:07 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

As he leaned forward on the offensive tackle-sized sofa in his office late Sunday afternoon to announce he would be stepping down as UNLV coach at season's end, the most famous football coach UNLV has ever known -- sorry, Ron Meyer -- told a group of sports writers to gather 'round, like a grandfather might do before reading the young 'uns a story.

Having been around long enough to see three of UNLV's eight previous football coaches resign under pressure and/or or less-than-ideal circumstances, these news conferences can be uncomfortable or downright unpleasant, especially if you were one of those trying to hasten the coach's departure by burying an axe in his back.

I mean, it has been 11 years since Jim Strong was run out of town like a homeless person during an Olympic year and I'm still waiting to hear his side of the story.

So I thought John Robinson would be justified in wanting to take some of his critics over his knee. Instead, I thought he was going to bounce us on it and regale us with stories of Rose Bowls past.

The abruptness he exhibited following last week's 27-10 loss to Air Force was absent. Robinson spoke easily and at length, responding to any and every question while confirming what we all had known even before the Rebels started 0-4 -- that he would be retiring at the end of the season despite having a year remaining on his contract.

His wife, Linda, is not well, and now neither is his team. So it was time.

He knew it. We knew it. And after Saturday's stunning 31-21 loss to Utah State, you knew it.

"Well, I made a decision to retire after the season is over," Robinson said after inquiring if there were any more vultures -- er, media members -- wandering the halls of the Lied Athletic Complex in search of his office. "It's a thought process I've been entertaining for some time.

"Probably the primary reason is in our family. We've got some heath issues that aren't going away. The other one, of course, is that losing these four games has created sort of a pressure cooker surrounding our performance. So that kind of brought it to a head."

With every loss, Robinson's future was becoming a bigger and bigger distraction. It was as if Pam Anderson had strolled into a Shriners Convention wearing a halter top and short shorts. Check that. At 0-4, it was more like Roseanne Barr strolling into a Shriners Convention dressed that way.

While there's no guarantee his players will start blocking and tackling better, at least they can peacefully go about trying to improve in those areas now that their coach has clarified his future.

And perhaps Rebels fans will finally find it in their hearts to give the man his due, rather than spend their time criticizing the predictable nature of his offense.

A fan e-mailed me Sunday night to ask if I thought the program was in better shape now than when Robinson arrived six years ago. I answered his question with two of my own:

Is Notre Dame Catholic? Does The Bear still ... well, whatever The Bear did in Alabama?

It's not as if Robinson doesn't deserve some respect. He inherited a program that had lost 16 consecutive games and had sunken to such depths that Gordon Lightfoot was getting ready to write a song about it. But Robinson raised the Wreck of the Jeff Horton virtually overnight, guiding the Rebels to a Las Vegas Bowl victory against Arkansas in just his second season.

His biggest problem, other than not adjusting his offense to suit athletic quarterback Jason Thomas, might have been raising the bar too high too soon. That second season was his only winning one and unless this one turns around like a boomerang at Mick Dundee's family reunion, Robinson will leave Las Vegas having lost many more games than he won.

But regardless of his record, Robinson has graced the football program with his presence. The caliber of players he has recruited is markedly better, as are interest in the program, graduation rates and facilities. Every time I sit down to watch a game from the luxurious press box tower at Sam Boyd Stadium I raise my bottled water in a toast to Robinson, because he's the guy who built it.

So here's to you, Mr. Robinson. Like Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, you will be missed, even if the lonely Rebel nation has already turned its beady little eyes to your possible successor. Whoa, Whoa, whoa.

Or is it woe, woe, woe?

My prediction is that Robinson's replacement will be whichever young coordinator from whatever Top 25 program that athletic director Mike Hamrick can convince to relocate to the college football hinterlands.

My second prediction? In that it has been 23 years since a football coach who didn't cheat left here with a winning record, and that a been-there-done-that guy like John Robinson couldn't get the job done, his successor might want to consider renting a home instead of buying one.