I figured it was perfect timing. I would be away on vacation and by the time I got back Greg Robinson would be gone. He'd have left his key on the counter, a forwarding address for his mail and a note wishing me well. Instead I come back and there's Greg, still lounging on the couch playing Halo 3 in his underwear, complaining about how the Chinese delivery guy brought him fried dumplings when he specifically asked for steamed. I need an explanation.
I'm pretty sure when Orange44 Cues The Crying Elian Gonzalez, that's pretty much the sign that things need to change. Alas, the Orange have played their final game of the season and things are still as I left them. Nebraska shuffled Bill Callahan loose the coaching coil and yet Greg Robinson remains. Ed Orgeron coached for three seasons at Ole Miss and that was enough for the folks there to send him packing, but after three seasons at Syracuse Greg Robinson is still receiving the benefit of the doubt. Dennis Franchione politely excused himself from the party at Texas A&M and yet Greg Robinson is still talking about next year. Even the most ardent Robinson-supporters are turning on him.
The Three Idiots make it abundantely clear, Greg is probably staying. The question at this point is, what is Syracuse's motivation if they do indeed keep He Who Does Not Know.
According to Donnie Webb, Syracuse might be feeling a little guilty about the situation they dropped Greg into.
...There are other voices at Syracuse University being heard in this difficult process. And those voices are saying, "let's be fair to Greg. Look at the hand he was dealt. Look at the timing of the transition. Look at the late start he was handed to recruit in 2005 and hire staff. Look at the players he's brought in. Look at the young talent such as Mike Williams and Mike Holmes. Look at the injuries to Delone Carter, Curtis Brinkley, Tony Jenkins, Jared Kimmel and even Andrew Robinson and the impact it's had on a young, inexperienced team. Look at the loss of Jermaine Pierce and Tom Ferron. Look at the fairness of signing a five-year contract and whether a university is comfortable cutting him loose after three. Has Syracuse been totally fair to Greg Robinson? Has he truly been given the full opportunity to see this thorough?"
Donnie also points out that it might be about money. To buyout Greg's contract it would cost SU about $3 million. Having already paid Wyoming a bit to drop our game with them and the lack of income the program brought in this year compared to previous years, I can't imagine Cuse is in a rush to dole out huge sums like that right now.
All in all, if they do indeed officially bring Greg back it will likely be 70% over money and 30% over not wanting to look bad for canning Robinson after only three years. Still, Syracuse firing Robinson wouldn't look bad at all in the current market and would be overshadowed by Ole Miss' and Nebraska's firings anyway. So you can probably blame the person who signed Greg to that contract for forcing Daryl Gross to keep him another year.
Oh wait, that WAS Gross.
Perhaps we've been going about this all wrong after all.