Someone asked me if UNLV coach John Robinson was the same John Robinson who once coached Southern Cal.

I wonder about people who ask questions like that. Are they holding jobs, operating motorized equipment and voting in elections?

And do they think the John Adams who's writing this column is a former United States President?

John Robinson is almost as common a name as John Adams. So don't you think that a couple of different John Robinsons might have become college football coaches?

I don't know anything about the John Robinson who coaches UNLV. I assume he's an up-andcoming coach who hopes to use UNLV as a stepping stone to a better job.

But I can tell you something about the John Robinson who coached USC.

His Trojans were 67-14-2 from 1976 through 1983. They went a school-record 28 games without a loss. They didn't just win a lot of games; they won the biggest games.

Robinson went to four Rose Bowls in his first five years with the Trojans and won all four. He won a national championship in 1978, finished second in 1976 and in 1979 when the Trojans were unbeaten. He won three Pac-10 championships. He was named national coach of the year in 1979.

And he could recruit as well as he could coach.

He hardly could turn around on the practice field without bumping into a future pro at USC. He coached 25 first-team AllAmericans, 22 NFL first-round picks and 92 NFL draft picks.

His 1979 team was arguably the most talented ever assembled in college football. It was so talented that Marcus Allen had to play fullback to crack the starting lineup.

Allen won the Heisman Trophy two years later. Charles White, the tailback he blocked for, won the Heisman in 1979.

USC's offensive line was even better than its running backs. It was comprised of NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz, Brad Budde, Chris Foote, Roy Foster and Keith Van Horne, who combined to play 53 years in the NFL. Their backups at USC included Bruce Matthews, Don Mosebar and Tony Slaton, who combined to play 38 years in the NFL.

NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and Dennis Smith were the safeties. Joey Browner and Titans head coach Jeff Fisher were the cornerbacks. There was a future NFL player at almost every position. When one future pro came out, he often was replaced by another future pro.

Robinson eventually went pro, too. And he didn't even have to leave town.

Some college coaches struggle in the pros, but not this guy. He made the playoffs in seven of his first eight seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. In 1989, he came within one game of the Super Bowl.

His pro teams didn't look much different from his college teams. They usually had good backs running behind good offensive lines. And when they weren't good, they were great.

He had two NCAA rushing leaders at USC and four NFL rushing champions. He had tailbacks like White, Allen and Ricky Bell at USC. He had Eric Dickerson with the Rams.

He coached some of the game's greatest players and fielded a college football dream team 25 years ago. He won a national championship and almost made it to the Super Bowl.

Why would anyone think a coach like that would end up at UNLV?

John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.