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USC Football: Top 10 coaches in program history

By Quinn Douglas

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 05: Coach Pete Carroll of the USC Trojans leads his team to the field prior to the start of the NCAA college football game against Arizona Wildcats at the Los Angeles Coliseum on December 5, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 05: Coach Pete Carroll of the USC Trojans leads his team to the field prior to the start of the NCAA college football game against Arizona Wildcats at the Los Angeles Coliseum on December 5, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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4. John Robinson: 1976-1982, 1993-1997

Career Record: 104-35-4

Awards and Accolades: 1976, ’78-’79, ’93 & ’95 Pac-8/Pac-10 Champions, 1978 Coaches Poll National Championship, College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010

The man who replaced the legendary John McKay continued his legacy in two different stints as head coach of USC comes in at number four. John Robinson played his college football at rival Pac-12 school Oregon and got his first coaching job there following his graduation. He spent 11 years as an assistant at Oregon until he was brought to USC in 1972, he then spent a season as running backs coach for the Oakland Raiders before returning to USC as head coach in 1976.

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Robinson’s first tenure started out with a bang, winning three Pac-10 championships in four years, three Rose Bowl wins and a national championship in 1978. He never lost more than three games in his first stint as Trojans head coach, but at the end of 1982, he became head coach of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. Robinson remained head coach of the Rams until 1991, following a year off from football he returned to the sidelines in 1993 when he was re-hired by USC.

Unlike his first tenure, however, Robinson’s second tenure was not as successful. He led the Trojans to at least a share of two Pac-10 titles in his first three years, including a Rose Bowl win in 1995. But, following back-to-back six win seasons, Robinson stepped down as head coach following the 1997 season. Robinson would become head coach at UNLV in 1999, but harbored only one winning season and retired for good following the 2004 season.

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