Greg Robinson, former DC under Rich Rod, dies
https://twitter.com/syrfootball/status/1478835249576615937?s=21
Two time Super Bowl DC and author of one of the all time great victories over Notre Dame while HC at Syracuse, has passed away. He was 70.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:13 PM ^
May he rest in peace! First memory that comes up when I hear his name:
January 6th, 2022 at 12:24 AM ^
One of the greatest WTF Moments in Michigan football history
January 5th, 2022 at 4:14 PM ^
Any news regarding whether his beaver will be buried with him or not?
Too soon?
January 5th, 2022 at 4:29 PM ^
No, not too soon. Too stupid and too insensitive.
January 5th, 2022 at 6:20 PM ^
I don’t know. I hope people find reason for laughter upon my death. No pity parties for me.
January 5th, 2022 at 6:33 PM ^
‘Laughing’ is good, even at appropriate times near a death. Stupid mockery is not ‘laughter’.
January 5th, 2022 at 6:40 PM ^
I want everyone to have a party and a good time when I die. No crying, dwelling or feeling bad. I'm not too sure about any one looking down or up. Its probably just the big empty for eternity. So enjoy your time under the sun and walking above the ground.
January 6th, 2022 at 5:16 AM ^
"Looking down" in regards to death always reminds me of this one:
"Wherever my father is, I'm sure he's looking down on us. Oh, he's not dead - he's just very condescending."
January 5th, 2022 at 4:14 PM ^
From the article linked on that Twitter post:
Former Syracuse football coach Greg Robinson died in California on Wednesday, according to his son Dominic. He was 70 years old.
Dominic said that his father died from a form of Alzheimer’s Disease.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:38 PM ^
That's terrible. RIP coach.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:46 PM ^
The day we are able to cure Alzheimers will be one of the landmark achievements of modern human history. Its such a terrible disease that robs the afflicted and their loved ones of so much, physically, mentally and emotionally, and there's nothing anyone can currently do about it but watch it happen.
But a cure is coming. When? I have no clue, but it is coming, and when it does, the world will finally be rid of one of its truly worst, most debilitating and defeating diseases.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:55 PM ^
Mother has Alzheimer’s. There absolutely are things people can do to help. They just don’t, and use helplessness as an excuse.
I’m fucking exhausted and it feels like no one gives a flying fuck. If you know someone who was forced into the circumstance of caregiving for an Alzheimer’s victim, if you care at all, for the love of Blue, HELP THEM. Offer to pick up groceries, bring over a hot meal, or maybe drop by and vacuum, so they can take a walk or treat themselves to a coffee. Any time you can buy them to help them care for themselves instead of being a slave to circumstance will literally extend their life and even lower their own risk of dementia.
January 5th, 2022 at 5:33 PM ^
Agreed. My father has Alzheimer's. At my wife's urging, I was fortunate to be able to make a job change and spend more time with mom and dad. I was amazed at how much of an impact spending a few hours every couple of days with them. It gives my mom a big break (physically and emotionally) and was able to noticeably slow the progression just by keeping him more active.
January 5th, 2022 at 5:46 PM ^
So sorry to hear about your mother.
I can relate to being a caregiver to an ailing parent. My mother had ALS for several years before passing and I, along with my father (who was battling depression since he is a physician who could do nothing to cure his wife), was the primary caregiver to her. It was absolutely the most exhausting and physically/emotionally/mentally draining thing I've ever been through. There were times I literally fell asleep at the office in the middle of typing emails or working on reports. Way more exhausting than dealing with a colicky newborn.
Anything you can do to relieve a caregiver - even the smallest of gestures - means more than you can imagine.
January 5th, 2022 at 6:05 PM ^
there is a woeful lack of support groups for caregivers
contact me off site for one that is hybrid, 3rd saturday of the month, 1 - 2:30 pm
January 5th, 2022 at 6:21 PM ^
My father had dementia and probably Alzheimer's in his later years and lived in another part of the country. He had the most fantastic caregiver - she was a saint. I count myself as unbelievably lucky to have found her. Caregivers are some of the best people in the world.
January 5th, 2022 at 8:40 PM ^
There's also usually county-level resources. Check out r/agingparents on reddit (if only for the commiseration)
My aunt is going through all this now, it really is unimaginable the position she's in, the work, exasperation, constant vigilance, fear, uncertainty, financial desperation. It's breaking her
January 6th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
All great points, and I hope you know I meant no disrespect. There are absolutely things you can do to help. I think I was just coming at it from the medical/medicinal side of things, which to my understanding there isn't much we can do to stop or significantly slow the effects of the disease right now. I watched my grandfather succumb to Alzheimers ten years ago and it was an awful experience.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
His son Dominic said that his father died from a form of Alzheimer’s Disease.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
RIP GERG
We'll always have the stuffed beaver to remember you by.
January 5th, 2022 at 5:25 PM ^
GERG! That's what I was trying to remember. We called him that for years.
He seemed like a good man overall and this loss is unfortunate for his family and friends. Hopefully his days as a Michigan Man grease the wheels at the pearly gates.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:17 PM ^
RIP GRob.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:19 PM ^
Wow, that's young. Sad for his family. May he RIP.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:21 PM ^
Way too young to go. He seemed like a good dude.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:37 PM ^
was a good guy, a very good guy. bummed about this.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:22 PM ^
RIP Coach.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:23 PM ^
He's younger than I thought. Condolences to his family.
January 5th, 2022 at 4:42 PM ^
As others have said elsewhere, likely a function of being so gray so early, as I recall him having gray hair with the Broncos (the Sparky Anderson effect).
January 5th, 2022 at 6:36 PM ^
Sparky set the bar for white hair while Greg set the gold standard for grey hair.
Greg Robinson was a good coach who earned a better reputation elsewhere than the one he had in two seasons at Michigan. He took over the DCoordinator position from Scott Shafer during the no-defense regime of RichRod and tried unsuccessfully to patch together something out of nothing.
Rest in Peace, Coach Robinson.
January 6th, 2022 at 6:33 AM ^
You sure about the science behind this????
January 5th, 2022 at 4:32 PM ^
RIP Coach Robinson ?
January 5th, 2022 at 5:13 PM ^
Awful news. RIP
January 5th, 2022 at 5:31 PM ^
Way too young. RIP. My resolution this year was to get to the doctor and start screening for everything. Already have 4 appointments this month.
January 5th, 2022 at 7:15 PM ^
This might seem like I am hyping a service, I am not.
Consider DNA/genetic testing from a reputable lab (like 23andme) for inherited tendencies and know your biological family history. Knowing what's probably coming allows you to "take evasive actions" and treat things e-a-r-l-y, which beats late, always.
Just do it ...
January 5th, 2022 at 9:25 PM ^
Before you do that (genetic testing) get life insurance if you don't already have it. You don't want to pay more than you should be paying or be penalized for a chance at having a higher genetic risk. Insurance companies use data mining and find out a lot about you, more than you imagine. And yes, I am an expert in life insurance. The sooner, the better.
RIP GERG. I always liked the man.
January 5th, 2022 at 5:39 PM ^
I'm a month short of 69, so hearing of somebody passing at 70 from any affliction is sobering.
Dementia is the only disease that truly terrifies me—I observed it firsthand in my late father, and I'd rather go early from a heart attack next week than go through what he did in his 80s.
January 5th, 2022 at 6:23 PM ^
Same. My father hid it pretty well until he couldn't, and he really didn't want any help. It was a struggle til the end.
January 5th, 2022 at 7:46 PM ^
Because he was either too proud or too embarrassed. Or both. Or he didn't want to upset anyone.
My father was the same.
January 5th, 2022 at 6:12 PM ^
Rip Gerg
January 5th, 2022 at 6:16 PM ^
Being a coach can be brutal.
He told the story of picking up the newspaper off his front porch Christmas Day, the day before a Bronco playoff game, with the headline above the fold: "Is This Robinson's Last Game as A Bronco Coach?"
Heard him tell one of the funniest stories I ever heard.
His area for recruiting was the East Coast when he was at UCLA.
Last trip of the recruiting season,
4 kids, aged like 3 to 10.
His wife was noticeably distraught.
What is the problem? he asks
EVERY TIME YOU ARE GONE, they all come in to sleep with me,
and one at a time, so whenever I get back to sleep, another one appears.
I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT!
So GERG calls the family together.
Very important, each of you has to guarantee you will leave Mom alone at night, and stay in your own bed.
Every kid buys in.
Pre 9-11 days, family all there to greet him at LAX, he gets off the fully loaded plane.
500 people, he says, crowded around upstairs to meet those disembarking.
The oldest runs to the front, shouting and waving: "Dad, Dad, Dad!!!"
Yes son?
In a voice everyone can hear:
"Guess what! For the first time when you were gone, nobody slept with Mom!!!"
R.I.P.
January 5th, 2022 at 6:38 PM ^
He had not shared that story with me. I remember around that same time ((early 90’s) taking his family out for ice cream, and Dominick was a kick.
January 5th, 2022 at 7:33 PM ^
How was it that you came to know Robinson in the early ’90s?
January 5th, 2022 at 9:02 PM ^
one of his brothers is a close and long-time friend of mine from when i lived out west. that brother texted me today. i know or have met i think all 8 of his siblings at one time or another. when greg became DC at michigan it was a big thrill. right up until he found out he had 28 scholarship players on D, the rest were on rich rod's offense. greg had the definition of an empty cupboard when he got tapped to be DC. for us and did the best he could with what he had. oh, rich rod also mandated that stupid 3-3-5 defense which greg had never run before. that didn't help, either.
January 5th, 2022 at 7:19 PM ^
I had the chance to play 18 holes of golf with Greg Robinson, Frank Beckman, and a UM staffer, Ted Spencer at Jackson CC when Greg was DC at UM. He was very pleasant to be around for 4 hours and willing to answer any questions that I posed. Of course, I was respectful and mainly threw softball questions his way. May he RIP !!!
January 5th, 2022 at 7:21 PM ^
Wow! RIP Gerg.
January 5th, 2022 at 7:40 PM ^
Too soon Gerg. RIP.
Some historically bad defensive rankings, but not many defenses could hold up in the Rich Rod era when required to be on the field for 40 minutes a game.
January 5th, 2022 at 8:06 PM ^
Alzheimer's is an awful, awful disease. I have watched two people in my extended family sadly suffer and eventually pass from it. Whatever we may think of his tenure here, Robinson did have a rather productive career on the whole at both the professional and college levels, I would think.
January 5th, 2022 at 9:01 PM ^
70 is too young. RIP.
January 5th, 2022 at 10:11 PM ^
He was a better coach than he got to show at Michigan. RIP, Coach Robinson. He arrived on the scene just as MgoBlog exploded and Brian was fill of piss and vinegar. We were pretty hard on him, but I never heard an unkind word from him about his time here.