Art Briles hire would have been handled differently under Eddie G. Robinson, grandson says

As the news surfaced about the hiring of Art Briles as Grambling State’s offensive coordinator, Eddie Robinson III immediately thought about  his grandfather, legendary Tigers football coach Eddie G. Robinson.

Grambling is a proud historically black college and university that prides itself on a quote, "where everybody is somebody." Eddie G. Robinson, whose entire 56-season career as a coach was spent at Grambling, retired in 1997 as the winningest college football coach in history with 408 victories. He died in 2007.

Briles, who is white, had not coached in college since being fired by Baylor in 2016 after an internal investigation into the university's handling of an extensive number of sexual assault accusations. An NCAA investigation cleared Briles of any NCAA violations but was critical of his actions. 

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Four days after his hiring was announced, Briles resigned. And last Friday, four days after the resignation, new coach Hue  Jackson promoted John Simon, who is Black, to be his third  offensive coordinator since being hired. The decision was in line with what Robinson said his grandfather would have done. 

"I always kind of revert back to, 'How would Eddie Robinson handled the situation?' " Robinson said. "Well, I know that first he would look within his own staff. At this point, you got practices, spring ball getting ready to start. So, I mean, he may have his answer right there in front of him on his on staff." 

Robinson said he would have liked to have seen more evidence of Briles' experience with preventing sexual assault and harassment. 

"Folks can talk the talk, but I'm about walking the walk and that's what my grandpa's emphasized — actions speak louder than words," Robinson said. "So, if you're gonna make a move like that, to hire a coach Briles ... things should have been put in place where he can show examples of what he's done to rectify that situation that he had at Baylor.

"There are certain situations where you have to factor in the baggage that comes with (the hire). What would help is if there were examples prior to going into this decision where you can say, 'Hey, he is proactive with these groups trying to prevent sexual assault.  I just think those examples weren't presented."

Robinson, who is a 1989 graduate of Grambling, wasn't able to continue his family's football legacy at the school. Two weeks after graduating from Wossman High School, Robinson was in a car accident that cut a nerve in his arm. Robinson thought that he would simply rehabilitate his arm like a normal injury. But, when Robinson went to a doctor in Ruston during the summer of 1984 for a checkup, he still felt pain, ending hopes of playing for the Tigers. 

At the time, Robinson father, Eddie Robinson Jr., coached at Grambling as an assistant under his father.  Eddie Robinson Jr. died in 2013.

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Lift as you climb

Jackson has raved about being helped along his journey and the abundance of people who have given him a "life line." He said he wants to give others the same opportunity, and Robinson believed he could have done that before adding Briles. 

"It's all about getting the best candidate possible, no matter what color, what race, what ethnicity, but we all know there are some more than qualified Black coaches out there and they're not hard to find," Robinson said. "They just need an opportunity."

Robinson thinks back to how his grandfather preached giving back to those who represented Grambling to the best standard. 

"(My grandfather) would always say, 'You graduate from Grambling, you go out into the world, whatever you experience, the good experiences, bring them back to Grambling ... help Grambling State benefit from that,' " Robinson said.

Grambling alumni

Grambling alumni took to social media to make their case about Briles, and responses were mixed.

"I do think we do have some folks that are just putting on blinders; they're so caught up in, 'Hey, Grambling needs to win,' and it's pretty much a win at any cost and at all costs," Robinson said. "That's never been Grambling, and it shouldn't be Grambling — now, nor in the future."

To the alumni who wanted Briles as the offensive coordinator, Robinson has some questions. 

"At some point you have to look at the business aspect of the hire as well," Robinson said. "Are there going to be possible protests in the future? If he is the OC, will sponsors back out?

"We can't turn a blind eye and just say that it's all wins and losses when it's not; it's about individual lives that are affected on the daily. So, I just think that it just makes business sense to move on, move forward."

Grambling legend Doug Williams wasn't pleased with the hiring of Briles.

Continuing Eddie Robinson's legacy

 Robinson, who is an insurance claim adjuster, is the executive director of the Eddie Robinson Legacy Fund. 

"That's really what I want to do is to continue my grandfather's legacy via his charity, providing for kids education," Robinson said. "I would like to implement a new initiative to try to develop more African American male educators is the thing that I'm really focusing on, and hopefully, we'll be able to launch that initiative."