The Los Angeles Rams played against the Miami Dolphins on Monday, but this game was more than an effort to improve their 4-4 record. They might be playing in the memory of John Robinson, a stalwart coach who guided the team from 1983-1991. Unfortunately, the former Rams coach passed away.

Robinson and John Madden were buddies since they were in the fifth grade. Robinson used to think very highly of Madden. Unfortunately, both of the legendary coaches are no more. Robinson retired from coaching in 2010 and might have wanted to live his life free of all the hustle and bustle of football.

USC, the former school that Robinson coached, came forward to pay their tribute to the deceased head honcho, who once led them to a national title. USC’s handle posted the heartbreaking update on their X handle.

“John Robinson, one of USC’s most popular and successful football coaches, died today (Monday, Nov. 11) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of complications from pneumonia. He was 89,” USC posted and garnished the post with the hashtag, “#FightOnForever.”

Robinson attended high school with John Madden and then went on to play at Oregon as a tight end. He was a part of the 1958 Rose Bowl team. Shortly after, he started his career as an Assistant Coach at Oregon. He stayed there from 1960-1971 before he moved on to become the offensive coordinator at USC.

He initially stayed there for three seasons. After that, he went on to join the Oakland Raiders under coach Madden and stayed there for a season. But eventually returned as USC head coach in 1976. He took USC to a national championship and four conference titles and completed his stint with a 104-35-4 record.

His 1982 season ended at USC and the NFL was calling him again. This time though, he came back as the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams. He took a struggling 2-7 team and turned it into a 9-7 team in his first season as the Rams coach. That’s not all. The Rams made it to the playoffs in the first six of the seven seasons with Robinson as their HC. He went 75-68 with the Rams from 1983-1991, excluding the 4-6 playoff record.

The former Rams and USC coach had a coaching philosophy that he lived by and didn’t let the common perception ruin the way he approached coaching.

Coaching was a passion for John Robinson

Growing up in the Bay Area and being someone who was a part of football at an early age, he knew the mentality that went into being a head coach. He believed that his obsession with coaching could destroy his life, but he didn’t let it happen. He was very unapologetic in his approach to coaching.

“Coaching has that image of obsessed men driven to a point where they’ll destroy their lives,” he told The Times’ Mal Florence in 1981. “I’ll be da-ned if I’ll destroy my life.” It might have been this approach that helped him cement his place in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2004, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009, and the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009

Robinson is survived by his wife Beverly, four children, two stepchildren, and 10 grandchildren. May he rest in peace.