Sunday afternoon and yet another grilling of Greg Robinson 24 hours after a dismal loss was about to start. A ‘been here, done that’ atmosphere filled the cafeteria of the Iocolano-Petty Football Complex. At this point, all the losses – including Saturday’s 22-16 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati – felt the same.

When the head man of Syracuse football finally appeared, Robinson swiftly strode into the room, parked himself at his regal spot upfront and leaned into the microphone.

‘How are you all doing today?’ the head coach bellowed, nearly short-circuiting the room’s speakers. ‘You guys ready to roll?’

Well, yeah, we were. At this point in such a dreadful season, though, it’s reporters who should be asking that of the head coach, not vice versa. But even as the losses pile up for SU, the one thing Robinson never loses is his playfulness with the media, whether it is after the game, the day after or every Tuesday. The constant banter with reporters isn’t an act and serves Robinson well in his cutthroat profession.

Without a sense of humor, Robinson would have cracked already. At 1-7, the Orange is easily on track to compile one of the worst seasons in school history. The once-proud program hasn’t won a Big Least game in five tries.

Even when a reporter specifically wondered about Robinson’s state of mind – suggesting the coach looked beaten the day after SU blew an early 10-point lead and fell, 34-17, at Pittsburgh on Oct. 22 – Robinson dismissed the charge by teasing back.

‘I heard somebody in this group say that I looked a little tired (the day after the game),’ Robinson said. ‘Huh? Somebody going to claim that? Let me tell you something: If you think I look tired, you ought to see what you look like,’ he said, laughing. ‘Seriously, I mean, c’mon. Talk about me looking tired?’

It doesn’t matter if Robinson appeared exhausted or not that day – that’s open to interpretation. It just looks bad if Robinson agrees he was. So the coach found a way to disagree in an easygoing manner. Potential crisis averted.

Former head coach Paul Pasqualoni would’ve ignored the opportunity to make light of such an accusation. While the jury is still out on whether Robinson can coach – this season is a wash without his own recruits – Director of Athletics Daryl Gross correctly considered the ability to handle adversity as a key factor in hiring a new head coach.

Robinson doesn’t just joke about himself. He jabs at his team, even the much-maligned offense. Three days after the 38-14 debacle at Florida State on Oct. 1, Robinson was asked why the offense often doesn’t come to life until the second half and whether that might change because the upcoming game against Connecticut on Oct. 7 was at night.

‘I’m still trying to figure that out,’ he said, laughing. ‘We’re kind of a team that starts at four o’clock in the afternoon on offense. Being it’s an eight o’clock game, shoot, we might be on the down slope. I don’t know. We’ll see on Friday how that goes.’

Not so well was the answer. The Orange didn’t score until posting a cosmetic touchdown in the fourth quarter of an ugly 26-7 loss. SU quarterbacks Perry Patterson and Joe Fields went a combined 10-of-31 with two interceptions.

The following Tuesday, the media kicked it up a notch, wondering whether the entire offensive system needed an overhaul. Another touchy question. Then, after vigorously defending the West Coast Offense for several minutes, Robinson proceeded to commend the media’s mettle.

‘I can feel it. You guys are on your game today,’ he said. ‘You’re sharp. We better get down to one of those things when you say, ‘Couple more questions.’ All right, go ahead. I can feel it warming up.’

If Robinson messes around with the media, he probably jokes with his players, too. And if there’s anything a 1-7 team needs, it’s some lightheartedness. That isn’t to suggest Robinson doesn’t take his job as seriously as Pasqualoni. Robinson just connects with the paying public much better, even during an unimaginably disastrous season.

Both he and the media laughed together after Saturday’s game when the head coach took his turn on the offensive, harmlessly heckling the press about a 70-yard screen pass the Orange completed against the Bearcats.

‘How about the screen pass?’ he asked, smiling. ‘Somebody said we couldn’t run a screen. If I’m not mistaken, it was one of you. Where are you? Where’s my man? Right there.’

But the real test of his sense of humor is yet to come. What happens in a few years when SU has higher expectations and it loses a narrow game like Saturday, costing the team a crucial conference win? Will his playfulness still be there?

Regardless of what happens with the team, Robinson should always follow his own lead from the Tuesday media gathering following one of the lowest points in SU history, the 31-9 loss to Rutgers on Oct. 15. Someone had asked how he was holding up.

‘I’m ready to go,’ he said, chuckling as always. ‘I’m ready for you and the questions.’

That attitude will never cease to serve Robinson well, and I don’t say that because I’m a reporter. In this case, consider me a critic analyzing the situation. And my analysis is as follows: Robinson should never bury the personality that’s forever ready to roll.

Published on October 31, 2005 at 12:00 pm