Coach Rob: "our" coach

If a man can look back on his life and say he kept the same job for 50 years and was married to the same woman for just as long, I'd say he did a pretty damn good job in life.

Eddie Robinson is one of those men.

Robinson, the former head coach at Grambling State University, died last week in Louisiana at the age of 88. He was coach at Grambling for 56 years. During that time, he sent of 200 players to the NFL (four hall of famers) and touched the lives of thousands more. You see, back in the day when colleges, especially in the south, weren't admitting blacks, Grambling and other HBCUs got the top blacks who nowadays would be going to the Floridas, Alabamas and Ohio States of the world.

He single handedly put Grambling and black college football on the map. Black athletes wanted to go and play for Grambling. They wanted to play for "Coach Rob" For many of his players, he was much more than just a football coach, he was a father figure. For as much as he taught his players the Xs and Os on the field, he taught them the lessons of life. And made sure he walked the walk.

For black folks, he was "our coach" He represented black athletics with dignity and grace, not to mention success. He won 408 wins in his careers and was widely respected amongst his more "well-known" coaching peers such as Bear Bryant, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. It's no secret, Robinson could have, and should have, had an opportunity to move on to to a bigger and better opportnity, but he didn't. He stayed loyal to Grambling and its community.

He may have stayed at the small Louisiana school and community his whole career, but his impact will always be felt worldwide.