John Robinson, one of the most important figures in USC football history, died on Monday at the age of 89.

USC announced died due to complications from pneumonia.

“I think what I’ll remember about Coach Robinson is that the bar was set very, very high in terms of expectations, and he was right in the middle of it,” said Paul McDonald, the championship team’s point guard. he said to himself Bruce Feldman From The Athletic. “He wasn’t one of the guys standing in the tower. He was in the middle of the action, showing how to block, how to tackle, how to move.

“He really loved the physicality of the game. That’s what appealed to him, and so we became an incredibly physical team. He instilled the philosophy of wearing down the other players, and that was really smart because you don’t win games with the Flash, you win games by punching people in the mouth.”

While the 1978 team won the championship, the 1979 team featured four Pro Football Hall of Famers in Anthony Muñoz, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen and Bruce Matthews.

Robinson went 104-35-4 overall against the Trojans and led the program to consistent excellence. Only John McKay and Howard Jones have more wins in program history, and they also took home five Pac-10 championships and four Rose Bowl titles.

He did not lose in any of his four Rose Bowl appearances with USC, and as a result, he was elected to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2004. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 and earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors twice and National Coach of the Year honors once.

While Robinsin is most closely associated with USC, he played at Oregon and helped lead the Ducks to the Rose Bowl during the 1958 campaign. After his college career ended, he became Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 1960 and remained on the staff for 12 years before leaving for USC.

He eventually coached at the NFL level, serving as an assistant with the Oakland Raiders in 1975, then served as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams for nine seasons from 1983 to 1991.

These Rams teams went 75-68 overall and advanced to the NFC Championship Game in the 1985 and 1989 seasons.

Robinson wasn’t done with the college game, leading UNLV as head coach from 1999 to 2004 and then guiding the 2019 LSU Tigers to the national championship as a senior advisor.

In addition to his wife, Beverly, he is survived by four children, two stepchildren and 10 grandchildren.