Remembering: The debut of 'The Rob'

TIGER PAUSE: Grambling's Robinson Stadium opened 25 seasons ago with fanfare, blowout
September 15, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Football had been, more often than not, the last thing on Eddie Robinson's mind.

The longtime former Grambling coach's 1983 opener against Alcorn State, handily won but never forgotten, would be the first game played at a new facility bearing Robinson's name.

Not that Alcorn State hadn't been an entertaining, formidable foe. Still, even while his assistants tried to script a game knotted at 7-0 during halftime, Robinson was elsewhere — fulfilling the obligations of a dignitary more than that of a ball coach.

"It was a struggle for him," said longtime GSU assistant Melvin "Jim" Lee. "He had made so many sacrifices. He knew that the program would profit very much from a new stadium."
So, even while the game teetered in the balance, Robinson could be found speaking before a packed crowd outside the locker room.

"Things are happening today," he said, "that usually never happen while the person is living."

Grambling's suffocating defense, coupled with a canny misdirection on offense, would do the rest. The Tigers scored a trio of late-game touchdowns to secure the dominating 28-0 victory.

“Our team was excited about becoming part of history, the first team to play in the stadium named after the man that was our coach,” said Robert “Big Bird” Smith, then an All-America defender for Robinson.

Alcorn is remembered now as the first opponent to descend into Grambling’s unique, now-legendary sunken structure – but not the first to leave with a loss. Robinson would win a total of 37 games at “The Rob” before retiring 15 seasons later.

“Walking down the hill, it presented quite a challenge for any opposing team,” said Lee, an offensive assistant for 40 seasons at GSU. “One player saw the stadium and said it looked like going down inside Hades.”


A DOMINATING WIN
Grambling’s offensive line had been decimated by graduation, leaving returning senior quarterback Hollis Brent exposed. Calvin Nicholas, a talented safety, was moved to receiver in an effort to replace the departed Rufus Stevens.

Robinson spoke with what appeared to be a shy candor about GSU’s struggles. He said Lee had been forced to tinker with the team’s fabled Wing-T offense – adding some I-formation looks.

Points, Robinson guessed, would have to come from running back James Robinson, the Tigers’ second leading rusher from a season before. He’d be joined in the backfield by Texas A&M transfer Ronny James.

“We’re going to use the ‘I’ as much as we can make it work,” Robinson said, in the days leading up to the game. “It just adds a lot to our attack, if we can open some holes.”

During the transition, Grambling was going to rely on coordinator Fred Collins’ muscular “Trees of Terror” defense, which went on to produce seven of the program’s 12 all-conference players that year – including first-teamers Smith, Reginald Pugh, James Polk and Ed Scott.

Robinson gave a stirring pre-game speech, Smith recalled, and his unit rose to the challenge.

“Coach made the comment that he never made a tackle, he never scored a touchdown, and he never won a game,” Smith said. “He said the wins did not belong to him. They belonged to the players – to (well-known former Grambling standouts) Gary (‘Big Hands’ Johnson), Doug (Williams), Sammy (White) and Trumaine (Johnson).”

GSU would have to take down a resurgent Alcorn State team, led by fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference coaching legend Mario Casem.

Grambling’s battles with Alcorn were already the stuff of lore, with Robinson winning or sharing 13 league titles up to that point, while Casem took six.

ASU, however, had been without a championship since 1979 – and was just 16-14 over the previous three campaigns, falling to Grambling in both 1981-82. Casem was building toward a final championship as a coach in ’85, though, and boasted six returners on offense and eight on defense.

He pushed Grambling to a defensive, scoreless deadlock through the initial quarter.

Alcorn sacked Brent seven times in the first half, totalling more than 40 yards in losses. GSU linebacker Mike Dennis’ interception return for a touchdown had been the lone first-half points.

All that talk of switching to the ‘I,’ though, proved to a clever Robinson ruse. Grambling rarely called the formation – and it was, in fact, the GSU passers who secured this historic first win.

Alcorn was apparently caught off guard.

Grambling's Hollis and Anthony Anderson combined for 247 yards in the air against a defense that would go on to lead the SWAC in 1983, while Alcorn’s two passers could manage only 81.

Grambling’s Marvin Thomas, Wayne Hill and Nicholas hauled in those second-half TD catches. Most impressive was the 91-yard streak by the converted defender Nicholas, who hauled in an Anderson pass on a post pattern with 5:21 remaining, and ran through a defender on the way to the final points of the game.

Meanwhile, the Grambling defense never let Alcorn past the Grambling 33.

GSU only allowed 44 yards rushing over the initial two quarters. Glenn Hall also added another pick late, securing the game with 1:47 left.

The flamboyant Casem, during a raucous post-game press conference, took it all in stride: “Playing Grambling is like making love to a gorilla,” he said. “You can not quit until he gets enough.”

Smith chuckles at the memory. “Opening day, we did get enough,” he said.

THEN, A GREAT HONOR
The Robinson Stadium stands already teemed with 10,000 fans as grand-opening ceremonies began an hour and a half before Alcorn took the field.

Then-Louisiana Gov. Dave Treen spoke, as did Robinson – who was supposed to be the guest of honor. An abiding humility, however, wouldn’t allow Robinson to completely inhabit the spotlight.

With him was wife Doris, their children, and his mother. Robinson talked about them, and about his players.

“When you say Robinson Stadium,” he said that day, “it has to mean every person who has played football here. This honor that has been bestowed on us is a great one.”

Built then at a cost of $7.5 million dollars, the facility was said to seat 22,500 fans and includes a unique tiger-inspired design on the chairbacks below the westside pressbox. Striped in the team’s familiar black and gold colors, “GSU” is spelled out in red – a tip of the hat to former Grambling president R.W.E. “Prez” Jones, who favored this accent color.

Smith, who had been a freshman recruit when construction was first begun in 1980, was among those who witnessed this remarkable transformation.

“To have an opportunity to watch that spot turn from a wooded area with a pond into a deep hole on our campus and finally into a football stadium was amazing,” said Smith, later a line coach at Grambling.

The stadium was originally named for the Robinson family, since state law prohibits the honoring of a living person. That is expected to change in the wake of Robinson’s passing in April of this year at age 88, the result of complications related to Alzheimer’s disease.

Treen acknowledged, during the opening event, that Robinson Stadium would always stand as a tribute to Division I’s winningest coach.

“We all know who the distinguished member of that family is,” Treen said. “Sept. 3 will go down as an historic date because we are here today to dedicate this magnificent facility to this institution, and to a person who is an institution – Coach Eddie Robinson.”

Getting there had been a force of will for Robinson, who battled through budget cuts that radically changed design elements – to the very elements themselves. A late-summer rainshower caused one side of the hollowed-out ground to collapse in a mudslide, threatening the opener.

Robinson, involved in every facet of construction, deeply felt each setback. But he never wavered.

“He put a lot being into developing that stadium,” Lee said. “There was pressure to keep it going forward. It wasn’t an easy thing – though it was well deserved.”

A LEGACY REMEMBERED
Grambling played Casem to a virtual draw while he was at Alcorn, though Robinson eventually opened up a 13-8 lead after Casem returned to coaching at Southern.

Robinson would retire in 1997 having amassed 408 wins over a career that spanned six decades to the early 1940s. Through it all, their mutual respect endured – as did Casem’s propensity for the quick, appropriate quip.

Attending Robinson’s funeral earlier this year, Casem attempted to frame Robinson’s towering presence: “He was like Mount Fuji in Japan. He was always there, and he was always majestic.”

Robinson will be remembered again, as Grambling opens the 2007 home slate on Saturday against Alabama A&M. It will be the first game held at Robinson Stadium since its namesake’s passing.

Smith said this place, even as three head coaches have followed at GSU over the last decade, will always echo with cheers for Robinson.

Robinson himself seemed completely aware of that part of his legacy, the one made of concrete and steel, as he left the stadium on opening night more than a quarter century ago.

The suddenly quiet coach, awash in emotion, reached down and grabbed a single blade of grass from the Robinson Stadium turf.

“That we should have been thought worthy of this distinction gives us mixed emotions,” Robinson said, “of humility and profound gratitude.”
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Lee's list: Best ever at 'The Rob'
http://www.thenewsstar.com/news/blogs/blog3/2007/09/lees-list-best-ever-at-rob.html

As Robinson Stadium enters its 25th season, I asked longtime Grambling assistant Melvin "Jim" Lee -- who coached at his alma mater for 40 seasons after helping the Tigers to a 1955 national championship as a player under Eddie Robinson -- to name his Top 5 most memorable games at the facility.

First, there was a good bit of reminescing: "We gained so much from our time with Coach," Lee said. "We got a chance to see the country and a portion of the world. It was something that being in a smaller school, you never thought would happen."

Then, we got down to Lee's list:

5. NORTH CAROLINA A&T, 1997
Grambling gamely battled, but ultimately fell to A&T by two, 37-35, in the legendary coach's final home contest.

After 57 seasons, and a still-standing Divison I record of 408 wins, Robinson's remarkable career was through. Lee had played for him, then coached with him, for nearly 50 of those years.

"It was memorable because it was the last game, and what it meant to Coach," Lee said, "not because of way we played. The kids tried their very best, but we just didn't have the talent."

4. JACKSON STATE, 1992
Grambling's march to a final national black college championship for Robinson included an emotional win over Jackson State, who had bested GSU in each of the previous two seasons.

Grambling won 34-31.

"We were able to have a really good game from Stevie Anderson out of Jonesboro," Lee said. "We beat them, after they'd had our number for years. That was a good team and a great game."

3. TEXAS SOUTHERN, 1991
Lee remembers well TSU's "really big hitters," including future New York Giants standout Michael Strahan, then a junior.

The game, as was often the case back in the day with Texas Southern, was very tight. A homecoming crowd at "The Rob" brought additional intensity to the proceedings.

"We got down to the very last, and Gilad Landau came in," Lee said. "Two seconds on the clock, and he kicked it right down the middle for the win."

Final score, Grambling 30-27.

2. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE, 1987.
Freshman kicker Willian Wrighten, on his fourth attempt, kicked a 21-yard field goal with no time remaining to give South Carolina State a two-point win during a nationally broadcast Thursday night ESPN game from Robinson Stadium.

The first kick was nearly from midfield, a desperation move. But a series of penalties on Grambling, including roughing the kicker and offsides, eventually made this nearly a chip shot.

Grambling fell 15-13.

"We weren't satisfied with the outcome, of course, but it's certainly one I remember," Lee said. "What a game."

1. ALCORN STATE, 1994
There has never, and may well never be, a more famous game at "The Rob" than this titanic struggle against future NFL MVP and Super Bowl quarterback Steve McNair.

Grambling scored and scored and scored, only to be matched stride for stride by McNair -- a senior who had never lost to Robinson and Lee. GSU won in the final tally, but barely: 62-56. And even then, the Tigers had to fight off a late ASU drive.

"It came down, again, to a last play with just seconds on the clock," Lee said. "Thank goodness we were leading by a few. That was a very satisfying."

LAID TO REST

Robinson's players huddle up for last goodbye
Memories, tears flow throughout emotional reunion for proteges of late coach
April 10, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
BATON ROUGE -- Former players made a gathering to mark Eddie Robinson’s legendary 57-year career at Grambling into a lively reunion that crossed generations.

Members of Robinson teams from 1941-97 met for a private event before the general public was allowed into the state capitol for an all-day memorial, something typically reserved for heads of state.

“I’m so happy this happened for Coach,” said Frank Lewis, a wide receiver and running back at Grambling in the late 1960s. “Coach was so special. He deserves it.”

The day was marked by stark emotional contrasts -- beginning as the players, wearing white gloves and standing in parallel lines, passed Robinson’s cherry-wood casket up the imposing steps of one of Louisiana’s most iconic buildings.

GSU standouts Albert Lewis and Doug Williams, the lead pallbearers, were joined by more than 100 Robinson protégés in that solemn task, which led inside to Memorial Hall, the ornate, two-story space between the state’s Senate and House chambers.

Director Larry Pannell led the Tiger Marching Band through a sad, but swinging rendition of “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” from the top of the steps.

“There’s no topping this legacy,” said Lewis, a Grambling defensive back in the early 1980s. “I consider Coach Robinson one of the greatest individuals -- not coaches, individuals -- in this country’s history.”

The 88-year-old Robinson, who still holds the record for Division I wins, died April 3 from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. But not before shaping the lives of generations, said Williams, a former GSU quarterback who succeeded Robinson as coach.

“We’re all an extension of Coach Eddie Robinson,” Williams said. “He lives on through each of us. We are part of what Coach Robinson was, and what he will always be.”

Quiet sorrow turned to open grieving as the casket was opened.

A trio of state troopers presented the colors --- the United States, Louisiana and Grambling flags --- and placed them behind Robinson. Wreaths from the university and the state were also placed by former players, including Adolph Byrd, a tackle on Robinson’s first 1940s teams.

Robinson’s family sat at the feet of the former coach, while his ex-players lined up again to pass a football, hand to hand, from the back of the group to the waiting hands of Williams --- who held the ball aloft before handing it to Doris and son Eddie Robinson Jr. They then placed it in the casket with Robinson.

Robinson Jr. stood behind the GSU flag as more tributes followed, including a powerful speech by Williams, famous even now for his 1988 Super Bowl MVP performance.

“This is such a showing of support for what he did,” said Robinson Jr. “Just to know that so many people admired him, it’s an honor for the whole family.”

Personal touches surrounded the casket, including a painting by Ruston artist Reggie McLeroy, previously hanging in the Robinson family living room.

Next to it was a new creation by McLeroy that featured the former coach, wearing his familiar red suspenders and carrying his briefcase, walking across a football field. A shimmering image of Robinson rises in the clouds above.

“It’s a testament to him, when you get this kind of representation,” said Michael Haynes, a late 1970s-era defensive back. “He was charismatic. I will say this, the world lost a great one -- and heaven has truly gotten better.”

The team event’s finale included an emotional singing of the Grambling alma mater, and several players were overcome -- including Williams, who had to briefly leave the hall.

That somber moment turned to celebration with the Tiger Marching Band’s segue into the GSU fight song. Players and family members alike, tears still in their eyes, suddenly filled the Memorial Hall with ringing joy.

“This isn’t just what he taught us about football,” said Darrius Matthews, a defender on Robinson’s final black college national championship team in 1992. “It was about what he taught us about life.”

The players poured out on the capitol steps once more, where team mates from every decade gathered for what quickly became raucous group photos.

More than one player, when there was an unexpected hitch in the proceedings, reused Robinson’s well-worn practice mantra: “Run it again!”

Melvin Lee, a 1950s-era player for Robinson, later coached alongside him for 40 seasons. He ended up in nearly every photo.

“To see people come back and pay tribute to Coach Robinson like this, it’s sad but great at the same time,” said Lee, who still lives in Grambling. “It’s great to share stories and relive the memories.”

Henry Dyer, a running back for Robinson in the early 1960s, stepped out to take his own picture of former teammates.

“It was a great day for a great man,” Dyer said. “It was a celebration of a great life.”

Even as the band filed past the players on the capitol steps, a group of well wishers and fans had begun lining up for the public viewing of Robinson that followed. Back inside, many gathered around an exhibit of memorabilia, including a series of photos taken by James Terry.

Robinson’s casket remained under the towering brass doors that lead to the Senate until 4:30 p.m., when his body was moved into the House chambers for a memorial service. More than 3,000 passed in the first few hours of viewing.

Players lingered for a while, reminiscing about their time with Robinson and sharing tall tales.

“There’s a million words you can say,” said Larry Metevia, a center for Robinson in the early 1960s. “But, mostly, I’d like to say: Thank you.”

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Outpouring overwhelms busy Williams
April 10, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
BATON ROUGE — Former Grambling standout Doug Williams stood in the Louisiana House chamber and took stock of a powerful day.

He had spent the balance of Monday in the towering Memorial Hall that connects this room with the state Senate, overseeing the public memorial to his late college coach, Eddie Robinson.

More than 1,000 people an hour had entered the Capitol for the public viewing of Robinson, who died April 3 at 88 from complications related to Alzheimer's disease.

Williams was overwhelmed.

"I can honestly say that today we've had some heavy hearts, but it was a great day," Williams told the packed House chamber. "So many people passed by, took pictures, shook hands. We saw parents bringing kids — and the only way they are going to know who Eddie Robinson is, what Eddie Robinson was, and what he will always be, is if we tell them."

Williams appeared as part of a Monday night memorial service that featured Gov. Kathleen Blanco as the keynote speaker. State Sen. Bob Kostelka R-Monroe, and state Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Grambling, two area legislators, were also featured — along with state Sen. Charles Jones D-Monroe of the Legislative Black Caucus.

Guests included LSU coach Les Miles, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, former Alcorn State and Southern University administrator Marino Casem, former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer and former GSU coach Melvin Spears, among others.

Blanco presented Doris, Eddie Robinson's wife of more than 65 years, the American flag that had flown over the Capitol building on Monday.

Williams began the day overseeing a private event for players. More than 100 former teammates shared the duty of carrying Robinson up the steps and into the Capitol's Memorial Hall earlier that morning.

"To see so many former players come and pay tribute to Coach Robinson made me feel good," Williams said. "Only Eddie Robinson could have done what happened today."

Williams immediately followed Jones, who had given an animated tribute sprinkled with poetic verse and snippets of Shakespeare.

But Williams, still flush from that morning event, said he remained undaunted — even if he couldn't match the poetry of Jones' speech.

"Ordinarily, I would want to wave the white flag, coming in after Senator Jones," Williams said. "But I was fortunate to be coached by Eddie Robinson, and he said if you are going to lose, lose trying to win."

Williams played quarterback for Robinson from 1974-77 before an NFL career that included Super Bowl MVP honors in 1988. He then succeeded Robinson as coach at Grambling, winning a trio of league championships between 2000-02.

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It's time
April 09, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
It's been eight years since the Legislature approved the idea of a state-run Eddie Robinson Museum. There's still no museum.

For all that time, the mantra amongst the organizers was getting it done before Robinson passed. That day has come, and gone.

There's still no museum.

But those who believe in the project think the museum could gain new life in the aftermath of Robinson's death, that some glimmer of hope might emerge from the grief over losing an American hero.

Doris Robinson, the late coach's wife of more than 65 years, is one of those people. (She was the one who asked the information on donating to the museum be distributed during today's memorial in Baton Rouge.) So is Doug Williams, Robinson's most visible protege this week.

"It's unfortunate that it took his going home for so many people to know what we already knew about Eddie Robinson," Williams said. "He was more than a football coach. He was more than 408 wins and 200 guys in the NFL. He was a great American."

I don't know why Robinson had to pass for us to get to that place, even though I'm glad that it might be possible.

After all, Robinson didn't send any more players to the NFL this week. He didn't win a 409th time. All that happened long ago.

It's time. Time for the university to sign off on the space. Time for the alumni to gather itself in mighty support. Time for this thing to happen.

There's still no museum. And that's a shocking rebuke to everything that is happening around Robinson right now. All of these tributes mean nothing if there isn't action to back up the sentiment.

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'His spirit will be with us'
Thousands come to Grambling to say goodbye to Eddie Robinson
April 12, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — They talked about the son of a sharecropper who rose to national fame, about a racial pioneer who refused to let the country's inequities dim his passion, about a football coach who cared more about people than games.

Services for Eddie G. Robinson, who had a 57-season tenure at Grambling, were Wednesday. He died April 3 at age 88 from complications related to Alzheimer's.

"Let's grieve and let's celebrate," said Willie Davis, a key member of Grambling State University's undefeated 1955 team before joining the legendary Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s. "But let's walk away feeling better because he touched our lives."

The crowd, which numbered in the thousands, included scores of former Grambling players like Davis. Several of them spoke during the event, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Willie Brown, Davis and Charlie Joiner; former Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams; and James "Shack" Harris, one of the NFL's highest ranking black executives.

Davis admitted that Robinson's very constancy made his passing seem impossible.

"You can never prepare for an occasion of this type," said Davis, who later became a business leader in California. "We are witnessing a legend passing on, but his spirit will be with us forever."

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu announced a proclamation recognizing Robinson's accomplishments and presented the former coach's family with a flag that flew over the Senate during the body's deliberations.

Wednesday's event included comments from GSU President Horace Judson; Secretary of State Jay Dardenne; Grambling Mayor Martha Andrus; Robinson biographer Richard Lapchick; civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and former Grambling president Joseph Johnson and Shreveport pastor E.E. Jones, both of whom also played for Robinson.

"As we say goodbye to Coach Robinson, I know God is saying hello," said Joiner, now an assistant coach with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Williams revealed that he and Brown — an assistant with the Oakland Raiders, where he played pro ball — had a side bet on who would cry first. Williams won, but only because he spoke last.

"I loved the man," Brown said, then moved away from the podium to compose himself. He pointed at Williams and nodded, before continuing.

Brown said he had been overcome when his gaze fell on Doris, Eddie Robinson's wife of more than 65 years.

"Thank you for letting Coach Robinson be a part of our lives," Brown told Doris Robinson, finally.

Williams cut his own message short as he again was brought to the verge of tears.

"Coach used to say that the first to cry was a sissy," Williams said. "I've been a sissy all week."

Harris, a Monroe native, brought the crowd out of its solemn mood by remembering some of Robinson's best-known lines, comments that many of the players around him then echoed word for word.

"Coach always said he wanted a piece of us," Harris said. "Today we are all better for having a piece of him."

The Robinson family had asked that donations be made to the long-delayed Eddie Robinson Museum effort in lieu of flowers.

"I stayed with him until the last," said Wilbert Ellis, a close friend and former GSU baseball coach, as he too fought back emotion. "He was a great man, who stood for great things. He loved dear old Grambling."

Robinson's memorial was the first event to be held at Grambling's newly constructed Assembly Center, a project first envisioned when Johnson was president of the school in the late 1970s. Flags in front of the new building flew at half-staff in honor of Robinson.

"This facility will forever be a special place," said Judson, "a consecrated place."

Robinson family friend George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, couldn't attend, but sent a representative in his place. Singer Mary Griffin, a Grambling product, performed, as did the GSU choir and its Tiger Marching Band.

The services ended with Eddie Robinson IV, the former coach's great-grandchild, re-enacting one of Robinson's signature morning rituals — ringing the bell to wake his players for school.

Jackson's thoughts
Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson called the late Grambling coach Eddie Robinson a national treasure, saying his legacy of commitment would remain an important lesson to every American.
"I say to (former Grambling players) James (Harris) and Doug (Williams), you don't have a monopoly on Coach," Jackson said. "He was everybody's coach."

Jackson was added to the list of speakers when he made a surprise appearance Wednesday to honor Robinson, who established a Division I college football record for wins in a career that spanned 11 presidents and several wars between 1941-1997.

Jackson went on to connect Robinson's accomplishments in breaking through racial barriers with heroes from biblical times as well as the decade of the 1960s that produced Jackson's mentor, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

In closing crescendo, he led the crowd in a rousing cheer for Robinson: "Put your hands together like Grambling is playing Southern!" Jackson exhorted.

He then knelt before Doris, Eddie Robinson's wife of 65 years, and son Eddie Jr. and spoke privately with the family.

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A break in the clouds
April 12, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
As somber and quietly sorrowful as the Monday memorial for Coach Robinson had been in the state capitol, his final services back in Grambling were a consistent celebration.

Maybe it was an air of reunion that surrounding the school's new assembly hall, as generations -- literally -- of former Robinson players gathered, many for the first time since graduating.

Maybe it was because that earlier day in Baton Rouge had been so reverential.

The campus gathering was typified by comments like those of longtime Grambling trainer Eugene "Doc" Harvey, who had worked with Robinson for 32 years. He certainly mourned the passing of this giant, but there was a good bit more joy in the remembering.

"When we awoke today, it was clouded up," Harvey said on Wednesday, "and on days like that (when Eugene and Robinson worked together with the team), sometimes we would be slow going to the stadium to dress. Coach Robinson never understood that. He'd say: 'Why are you guys not dressed? It's not going to rain in Grambling!'"

Robinson, the enternal optimist, had given his old friend one last boost.

"I thought about that today, when the sun came out just before the service," Harvey said, moments before Robinson's casket was closed for a final time and the memorial began.

"He was a great, great man," Harvey added, then paused. "A great man."

Bayou Classics That Mattered Most

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
More than three decades in, which Bayou Classic games mattered the most? I'm talking turning-point moments. Not just because that particular day was (or wasn't) a big win, but because it had a lasting impact. Leading up to Saturday's Bayou Classic, I'll make my six points:

1980 Bayou Classic
November 19, 2006

SIX: When Mike Williams walked off the Superdome carpet with the most valuable player award after the 1980 Bayou Classic, it marked the end of an era.

The Williams' era.

A quarterback named Williams, either Mike or older brother Doug, had started for Grambling in every Classic until that point - and had won four of the seven MVPs ever given.

GSU had also gone 6-1 against Southern with a Williams under center, falling only in 1979. Five of the Top 6 best-attended games, including Nos. 1-4, occurred during this span, as well.

Doug Williams remembered the very first game, played at Tulane in 1974 while construction of the Superdome was completed:

"I looked around and said: 'What am I doing here?'" he told The News-Star in 2003. "We had 75,000 at a historically black college football game. I was a redshirt freshman, and scared to death. I was blessed to have some veterans around me and Coach Robinson ran a conservative offense that didn't put too much pressure on me."

Doug Williams would, of course, be named MVP in that game, as well as the third Bayou Classic in 1976. Mike Williams took over in 1978, and won the Classic MVP that season and in 1980.

(Grambling wingback Sammy White, now the program's offensive coordinator, was MVP in 1975, followed by GSU wingback Robert Woods in 1977. Southern quarterback Wilfred Charles was the 1979 honoree.)

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1993 Bayou Classic
November 20, 2006

FIVE: In 1993, rookie Southern coach Pete Richardson stormed into the SWAC - beating his first six league opponents by an average of 30 points. In fact, he'd only stumble once coming into the season-ending Bayou Classic, and that was against out-of-conference foe Nicholls State.

"I voted for him for Coach of the Year," former GSU line coach Billy Manning told The News-Star in 1993. "It's hard to come in and turn a team around like that. ... It all boils down to execution, motivation, technique and preparation. The talent has been there."

Southern had already punched its ticket to the Heritage Bowl, after GSU fell to Alabama State three weeks before. Richardson then topped Eddie Robinson in the 1993 Bayou Classic 31-13 with sophomore quarterback Eric Randall as MVP.

A subsequent bowl win over South Carolina State meant the first-year coach had led Southern to the school's second 11-win season ever, its first SWAC title in 18 years and its first outright championship since 1959.

What followed was a stunning run of dominance for Southern, as Pete eventually took eight straight Classics -- six from Robinson and two from Doug Williams, Rob's eventual successor. He beat Grambling by an average of two touchdowns over that span.

Before Pete, Grambling actually held a 13-6 Classic series lead, and Southern had never won more than two in a row (1981-82 and 1987-88). By 2000, the Richardson had already won four SWAC titles (1993, then 1997-99) -- and pulled ahead in the Classic series, 14-13.

It all started with that 1993 victory.

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1990 Bayou Classic
November 21, 2006

FOUR: In many ways, the 1990 Bayou Classic was somewhat routine, as Grambling won 25-13 - Eddie Robinson's second in a row over Southern coach Gerald Kimble. GSU had, at that point, won 12 of the initial 17 editions.

Only this time, 200 million people had the opportunity to experience the game - not to mention the halftime pageantry - through a new partnership deal with NBC TV.

Former Grambling sports information director Collie J. Nicholson's dream - 12 years after his celebrated 30-year run at GSU ended - had finally been completely realized.

"When Eddie Robinson came to Grambling, people in Lincoln Parish didn't even know where Grambling was," Nicholson told The News-Star in 2003. "It took a long time to build name recognition for the school, during the time of segregation."

This was a guy who used to type up the game stories, then drive 70 miles to Shreveport to wire them all over the country. Now, Nicholson's game was being beamed into every home in America.

GSU quarterback Shawn Burras was the 1990 Classic's MVP, leading a unit that included SWAC offensive player of the year Walter Dean and future NFL receiver Jake Reed. Still, I think my favorite guy from this period is Raymond Smith, the 6-7, 435-pound offensive tackle who so richly earned the nickname: "World."

Oddly enough, despite the addition of television coverage, the 1990 edition turned out to be the highest attended Classic since Southern beat Grambling 22-17 in 1982. The announced crowd of 70,600 was then No. 7 all time.

Nicholson, who was recognized with the Bayou Classic Founder's Award two seasons later, passed earlier this year after experiencing a series of health problems. The press box at Robinson Stadium is named in his honor.

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1992 Bayou Classic
November 22, 2006

THREE: Coaching legends Eddie Robinson and Marino Casem - winners between them of 568 college contests - faced off again, producing another remarkable rivalry game.

And another razor-thin margin.

Three times, they roamed the sidelines at the Bayou Classic. The average margin of victory: 6 points.

This time, GSU won 30-27 before a sold-out crowd of 71,283, the year before Casem moved up to become Southern's athletics director. It was the last time these two Southwestern Athletic Conference legends met on the field.

The Classic's most valuable player was Grambling quarterback Alex Perkins, who would then help craft a 45-15 win over Florida A&M in the Heritage Bowl to win the '92 black college national championship - the final under Robinson. (Current GSU running backs coach Darius Matthews was also on that team.)

This would be the only time Robinson got the better of Casem in New Orleans. Southern beat Grambling by a touchdown in both 1987 and '88. (Southern's Daryl Garner and Chris Scott, respectively, were named MVPs.)

In all, 182,516 people saw these titanic struggles, which led to one of the most famous descriptions of this game from Casem - who called it "the biggest and best thing in all of blackdom."

Known as The Godfather of the SWAC, Casem served as coach and athletics director at both Southern, Alcorn and, for one season early in his coaching career, at Alabama State.

That run included seven football titles at Alcorn, where he set a school record for wins. (Though the two played to a virtual draw over Casem's first decade at Alcorn, Rob eventually established a 13-8 advantage). Casem oversaw another four SWAC championships as AD at Southern, then had another brief tenure in the same position at Alcorn before retiring.

Both Robinson and Casem, who finished with a coaching record of 160-91-8, are now members of the College Football Hall of Fame.

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1975 Bayou Classic
November 23, 2006

TWO: It's not just that this game was the first to be played in the Superdome, which is reason enough.

This one boasted more eventual NFL talent from Grambling than any Bayou Classic ever: Eight starters went on to play three or more years in the pros, and at least 15 were eventually invited to NFL camps.

"Grambling's football tradition is second to none," former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told The News-Star in 1992. "Under Eddie Robinson's leadership, Grambling contributed an unusually large number of players to the NFL."

Wingback Sammy White (Vikings, 1976-86) took handoffs from quarterback Doug Williams (Buccaneers, 1978-83; and Redskins, 1986-89). Now GSU's offensive coordinator, White was named the game's most valuable player.

Williams also had Dwight Scales (Rams, 1976-79; Chargers, 1981-83; and Seahawks, 1984) as a top target. Big Ron Singleton (Chargers, 1976; and Niners, 1977-80) would play both tight end and offensive tackle. The group scored 33 points that year on Charlie Bates' Jaguars, thrilling a crowd of 73,214 at the Dome.

Defensive back James Hunter (Lions, 1976-82) and linebacker Robert Pennywell (Niners, 1976; and Falcons, 1977-80) led a unit that held Southern to 17 points. The defensive line was anchored by Robert Barber (Packers, 1976-80) and Michael St. Claire (Browns, 1976-79; and Bengals, 1980-82).

Others from this amazingly talented Tiger team who appeared on NFL rosters included offensive tackle Larry Favorite (Falcons); defensive end Arthur Gilliam (Broncos); defensive tackle Jessie O'Neal (Oilers, Seahawks and Redskins); offensive lineman Robert Simon (Oilers); defensive backs Eugene Williams (Jets) and Michael Harris (Eagles, Jets and Steelers); and center Billy Manning (Saints) -- who later became an assistant under Robinson.

The Bayou Classic would be played another 29 times at the Superdome before Hurricane Katrina rendered the facility unplayable in 2005. After a one-year hiatus at Houston's Reliant Stadium, the contest returns home this year.

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1997 Bayou Classic
November 24, 2006

ONE: There would be no stopping Southern's Pete Richardson, then in the midst of eight years of domination in New Orleans.

Nevertheless, Eddie Robinson's final game, after 57 seasons at Grambling, provided the proper send off to college football's winningest coach.

The NBC broadcast included several features chronicling his storied career. Tributes flowed in from then President Bill Clinton, fellow coaches like Penn State's Joe Paterno and a bevy of former players.

More than 300 media credentials were issued, and they quickly scattered out to interview the likes of Willie Davis, Charles "Tank" Smith, Elfrid Payton, Henry Dyer, Mike Williams, James Hunter, and others.

The build up threatened to subsume the Bayou Classic itself.

Of course, Robinson took it all in stride: "I'm really not trying to think of this game as my last," he told The News-Star in 1997. "It's there in the back of my mind, but I'm really just trying to take this as just the next game we have to try to win."

That didn't happen, as Southern dispatched GSU, 30-7.

Even so, there were other numbers threading through the four-hour broadcast, staggering numbers - 408 wins in 587 games, 17 SWAC titles and 210 players in the NFL. Hundreds, if not thousands of young men, with a road map to life in the form of a college degree.

In carrying the game, NBC shared the story of Eddie Robinson with the world one final time.

The 1997 Classic was one instance - this year, with the return to New Orleans, is another - when it seemed appropriate that the game turned into a sideshow. Robinson's towering achievements deserved no less.

Also considered: 2004 Bayou Classic, an upset win by Grambling that sent Richardson into a tailspin. Then the reigning SWAC champion, the Jaguars went on to lose in the '04 title match and haven't had a winning season since. ... 1974 Bayou Classic, the first ever held. This game was held at Tulane Stadium while construction of the Superdome continued. ... 2006 Bayou Classic, which is set to include an emotional homecoming in New Orleans, a year after Hurricane Katrina.

On Melvin Spears and Grambling

ONE ON ONE WITH ... MELVIN SPEARS
August 24, 2003

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Grambling State University offensive coordinator Melvin Spears can look to some stunning accomplishments on the field since being hired by Doug Williams six years ago.

His unit broke 16 GSU single-season records last year alone. Spears also spearheaded a new strength and conditioning program.

Spend much time with Spears, however, and you'll find he brings the conversation back around to one specific stat: The number of players who have graduated from GSU.

News-Star sports editor Nick Deriso talks to Spears about the team's goals, both in and out of pads:

What's the secret to Grambling State's success since you've been coaching - not just on the field, but in the classroom? After all, you had 16 get diplomas last season.
We look at the players from an overall standpoint. We say all the time: Our main objective is to get them ready for corporate America. They've got to understand different types of roles. There are leadership roles, but the support guys - those coming in and out of the ballgame - have to understand what their roles may be, too.

You've taken a player like Bruce Eugene, who started as a rough-around-the-edges sophomore, and turned him into a record-breaking quarterback - but also an honor student.
Over time, giving him our tutelage, he's starting to step up to the place where we know he can be. He's applying himself in the classroom, and applying himself on the field. He's done a real, real good job.

Bruce is part of a powerful offense, one with a batch of speedy receivers - but also one with more potential at running back.
One of the things we focused on in the recruiting process was looking for guys with great speed. We had the opportunity to bring some speedy guys in to supplement Tramon Douglas. The thing we've always missed is having a real good fullback. Now that we have one with Rueben Mays (a University of Tennessee transfer), you'll see us with two wide receivers, a tight end and two backs.

That's got to make your SWAC opponents nervous.
When you talk about athletes, I think we have as good a group as anybody in the country - bar none. It's because of the recruiting process. We have a number of kids who were highly recruited, but whose fathers and mothers went to school here. They know that our retention ratio has been so great. We have graduated 82 kids in the last four years. When you have that kind of retention, it means you're going to have a pretty good football team.

It's also easier to recruit when you're talking to mama and daddy about scoring touchdowns - but also about seeing their son graduate, right?
(Laughs) No doubt! No doubt.

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GSU success earns Spears national honor
August 31, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
As Grambling State convenes for practice tonight, there will be another trophy on the mantel - only this time, it's not for one of the players. Or even for head coach Doug Williams.

Melvin Spears has been named the Division I-AA offensive coordinator of the year by "American Football Monthly" magazine.

Spears helped construct an offense that raced past the Southwestern Athletic Conference last year, ranking first in the nation in both I-AA passing offense and scoring offense. The unit also smashed 14 school and several other conference records on the way to Grambling State's third straight SWAC championship.

"I think it is wonderful - even though I was a bit surprised," Spears said. "It just says a whole lot about our team. I think it is a team award, because I could not get anything done without those 12 guys paying attention to the detail portion of the things that we do."

Williams said the recognition is well deserved.

"I don't care who the head coach is," he said, "there is always someone doing the dirty work when he's not around. When not only the players, but the assistant coaches get rewarded like this, it makes the championships even more special."

Williams hired Spears, an Alcorn State alum, six seasons ago. He'd had coaching stints in Arizona and Maryland.

"My hat goes off to Coach Williams who brought us all on board and put together a pretty good team," Spears said, giving credit to the rest of his staff.

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MAN OF FOCUS
Grambling's Melvin Spears won't let any criticism keep him from churning out victories
November 20, 2005

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Throwback conundrum, old-school character, popular curbside topic of conversation from rough-hewn back streets to tree-dotted cul-de-sacs.

We are witnessing in Grambling State coach Melvin Spears the birth of what is, at once, all of those things.

A year ago this week, Spears beat Southern, GSU's signature rival, in the nationally televised Bayou Classic.

Once a largely unknown assistant under Doug Williams, Spears is now working under a multi-year contract — and has coached this Grambling team to a spotless league record in 2005. Still, he is someone who encounters controversy as easily as his pass-first offenses find the end zone.

Spears wrapped up a berth to GSU's conference championship game before Halloween. His quarterback is Division I-AA's active career leader in total yards from scrimmage.

Yet one popular poll this week on www.SWACPage.com, a message board devoted to athletics in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, perfectly sums up the sometimes-paradoxical nature of this Grambling coach.

The simple query: "Melvin Spears: Classless, or Kick A—?"

As Spears prepares for a return this week to the Bayou Classic, his insoluble nature remains as much as mystery to some as the day Williams, his first cousin, hired Spears in 1998 as offensive coordinator.

He's a guy who had his players pay tribute to a legendary influence like former GSU coach Eddie Robinson, but also publicly demanded a forfeit when a competing school's officials said they couldn't play in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

He is a coach who took the team on a tour of historical landmarks from the Civil Rights era before a critical game against the defending SWAC champion in Montgomery. But also the one who stuck with his starters after halftime in eye-popping blowouts over Prairie View and a first-year NAIA program.

He is a man who wears sunglasses at night.

SOME WANTED TO SEE HIM FAIL
Spears' eyes began to falter during a stint as a computer programmer after graduating from Alcorn State.

"One day I woke up, and I couldn't see at all," said Spears. "I was blind, basically."

After a series of tests for light sensitivity, Spears underwent a cornea transplant in his left eye. He said he has worn shades ever since to keep his vision from degenerating any further.

"People talk about intimidation with these glasses," said Spears, chuckling at the thought. "They are just something I need to operate day to day."

Those shades became his persona, and probably his defense mechanism, in the dark days after Williams suddenly resigned in February 2004 for a job in the NFL.

This should have been the time of his life. After all, Spears would quickly be named interim — something he called a dream job.

But some were slow to accept Spears. He almost immediately became ensnared in a series of alumni-generated tempests — including a resume inquiry sparked by an anonymous fax to the state board that oversees GSU.

"There were always people," Williams said this week, "who wanted to see him fail."

That was simply the first tumbling pebble in an eventual avalanche of misfortune last season.

Spears and his staff worked through the inevitable learning curve. Worse than that, though, were mounting injuries — none more damaging than the blown knee of senior quarterback Bruce Eugene.

Spears struggled to a 6-5 record, losing every home game — something that had never happened at Grambling in records going back to 1950.

"I did a whole lot of praying, a whole lot of soul searching," Spears said.

Perhaps never more than in those moments after a tough loss on homecoming.

Spears' office, like Williams' before him, is usually a bustling corner of activity after games — with fans, alumni and parents milling about.

Not this time. Spears sat alone behind his desk for hours, thinking about what might have been.
"There was nobody around," Spears said. "I was here until early into the night. If not for my faith, in God and in this program ..."

After a long pause, Spears continued: "That's got us over the hump."

A QUESTION OF KARMA?
Success against Southern, always critical, had never held more portent. A victory there meant job security. Next came a medical waiver for Eugene by the NCAA.

A year later, Spears enters the Bayou Classic on a seven-game winning streak. But even that has not been without controversy, as GSU galloped past conference opponents by an average of almost four touchdowns per game.

Along the way, Spears went for two with 34 seconds left in the Western Division title-clinching 58-21 win over Texas Southern. Then there was that lopsided 82-7 victory over the embryonic Concordia College.

"Many share the opinion that acts like a two-point conversion attempt in the final seconds of a long-since decided game does not exude class or sportsmanship," said Donavan Simmons, a 1997 GSU graduate who played as a redshirt freshman for Robinson.

SWAC beat writer Josh Moon, in a stinging piece on Friday, wrote: "I can't wait on karma to catch up with this guy."

But Spears doesn't see the point in telling young people not to give their all, and doesn't believe that the other team wouldn't have won by that same margin if it could.

"We stress that our players shouldn't play down to the level of the competition," Spears said, smoothly deflecting. "Our job is to go out and play Tiger football."

Winning has allowed Spears to relax. He's even taken to letting Eugene call some plays.
In this very action, Spears seems to be allowing himself to grow into the job.

And, save for an expected stumble against Division I-A opponent Washington State in its second game, Grambling has made good on that confidence.

"Spears is creating a mindset throughout the entire team that it's full speed until the final gun," said long-time supporter Michael Watson, a GSU product from Sicily Island. "Critics focus on the offensive scoring, but fail to notice that this non-stop mentality permeates the entire squad. Spears has this team locked into being the best it can be on every play, every day."

ON MELVIN, AND DOUG
The son of Melvin Sr. and Edith Matthews Spears, GSU's coach grew up in Clinton, and said he always followed his maternal cousin Doug around.

"When you talk about role models, I will always start with my mom and dad," said Spears, who shares Edith's temperament and style. "The next guy in line, though, is Doug Williams. Always has been, always will be."

It just took Spears 20 years to follow him all the way to Grambling.

While Williams signed to play collegiate football for Eddie Robinson, Spears says he chose conference foe Alcorn only because he didn't want to sit behind his talented older relative on the depth chart. Spears would play for another football legend — Marino Casem, known as "The Godfather of the SWAC."

"We ran the Wing-T, much the same as Eddie did," said Casem, who coached at Alcorn from 1966-86 and later was an administrator at Southern.

"Melvin ran the counter trap as well as anyone has run that thing for me," Casem said. "He might not have been as fast as the Trumaine Johnsons and the Sammy Whites that Grambling had playing that position, but he ran it as well because he knew the system."

In fact, Spears played in modified versions of the GSU offense both under Casem and at Clinton High School — where his coach was a former member of that legendary 1942 Grambling squad that went unbeaten and unscored upon for Robinson.

"Grambling," Spears said, "always seemed to be around."

Spears left computer work for coaching in the 1990s. He was defensive coordinator at Morgan State, his first collegiate work, when a call from Williams reunited the two.

"I have known Melvin all my life," Williams said this week. "I had no idea then that he would end up being the coach and what he would go through. I just felt comfortable with him."

Spears would switch sides, serving as offensive coordinator at Grambling for the next six seasons. That versatility was something his former coach at Alcorn recognized in Spears even as a youngster.

"He was smart and he knew the system as well as some of the coaches," Casem said. "He also knew all the other positions. I knew in my innermost being that he would be a success as a coach."

Spears' offenses, which topped I-AA for production in 2002, were an important cog in Williams' run of three straight SWAC titles beginning in 2000.

Randy Hymes, one of the most celebrated former players from that period, is now a receiver with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.

"Everybody knew in the league that I was coached by Doug Williams, but I am always speaking Coach Spears' name to people," said Hymes. "I remind them that there was somebody right there beside Doug Williams."

Still, when Spears stepped out of the former Super Bowl MVP's considerable shadow last year, Spears found the spotlight to be searing and unforgiving — even behind those ever-present shades.

He seemed to take from that the lesson that a coach had to win to make his way at Grambling, and win big.

WINNING THEM OVER
Texas Southern shouldn't feel bad, the on-campus joke goes. This guy is so hard that he cut his own son.

Spears, divorced years ago, actually became closer with his kids once he came back to Louisiana — since they were living in Baton Rouge and he was coaching in Baltimore.

Spears' three older children — Seana, Kulmoris and Jerome, the former tight end — have all gone to Grambling State. His youngest son Sean is a fixture around the program.

But when Jerome didn't live up to expectations, he was taken off the roster.

As a father, he said that hurt. But Spears knew, as a coach, there was no other way.

"It was," he said, "business."

Spears took the same approach with the hurricane game, saying it could have been played as scheduled by two schools that were outside Katrina's destructive path.

It's that simple with him, and that complicated.

Eventually, Spears' relationship with Williams came to take on this now-familiar dichotomy.
The two speak infrequently these days. Both seem to be concerned with their legacy at Grambling, and they are at different points in that journey.

"Eddie Robinson set this stage, then Doug Williams followed," Spears said this week, in a familiar refrain. "This is just something I am building upon."

Spears is fond of recalling Robinson's big wins, and his most well-known quotes. That doesn't always sit well with Williams, who wonders aloud about how politics inspires those statements.
There are those in the old guard, however, who revel in them.

"Melvin has recognized the great contributions that Eddie Robinson made to Grambling and to football in general," said Casem, himself an old friend of Robinson's. "I think some haven't appreciated it as much as Melvin does."

Longtime former baseball coach and athletics administrator Wilbert Ellis could be seen last week taking Spears aside at a benefit banquet for the proposed Eddie Robinson Museum, and putting a hand on Spears' shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, son," said Ellis. "You have done well by my alma mater."

NOT PERFECT, BUT VERY PASSIONATE
Spears' team is favored to win a second consecutive Bayou Classic this week — something that hasn't happened at Grambling since 1989-90.

Some might assume Spears would relax. If only. That's not Spears' style.

Practice on Wednesday, the midpoint of a bye week, ran more than 40 minutes late. Then there were meetings and tape to break down.

"It must be said that Melvin Spears longs for greatness," said Simmons, a fan who has begun to warm to Spears after heavily criticizing both his selection and the season that followed.

"Perfect, he is not," Simmons adds. "Passionate and committed, he is."

Spears remained at work in the stadium support facility on Wednesday night as chill and darkness fell all around Grambling.

"I didn't even go here," he said, smiling broadly. "But nobody can out-Grambling me."

In that canny modification of Robinson's oft-told quote on patriotism, Spears would acknowledge — even if it was unintentionally — his story's two sides, his fundamental contrasts.

And, perhaps, what his ultimate goal was all along.

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Grambling's Spears let go after 3 seasons as coach
'I hate to see any man get fired, but Spears may have doomed himself with other things besides wins and losses'
December 19, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — The roller-coaster ride for Grambling State University coach Melvin Spears ended Monday with his abrupt termination by school officials.

A career at GSU marked by dramatic highs and just as incredible lows never had a chance to plateau after a 3-8 season — just the third time in 60 years that Grambling has lost as many as eight times. GSU dropped six 2006 contests by a touchdown or less, two in overtime.

"We lost a lot of close games," said redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Landers, a Monroe native. "That's why I think he should have been given another chance."

Grambling issued a news release shortly after thenewsstar.com broke the story on Monday afternoon that Spears would not return for a fourth season. He finishes at Grambling with a 20-14 record.

Reached on Monday, Spears said he was given no reason for the firing, only that it was "an at-will termination."

In the prepared statement, GSU president Horace Judson said, "It is time to change the direction of Grambling's football program. ... This was a difficult decision, but I believe it is in the best interests of the university and the football program."

Judson said the school hopes to have a new coach in place by mid-January and that longtime assistant Sammy White — a former all-conference wingback at Grambling — will serve as interim head coach until a replacement is found.

Spears was hired by former GSU coach Doug Williams in 1998 as offensive coordinator. He helped craft a unit that led Grambling to three consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, 2000-02. Spears served as interim coach in 2004 after Williams resigned to take a personnel job with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But quarterback Bruce Eugene was felled by a knee injury in the opening game, and Spears needed to win three of his final four — including the season-ending Bayou Classic rivalry game against Southern — just to post a 6-5 mark.

Spears received a five-year deal in the offseason before 2005 — largely, some believed, because of that Bayou Classic win — and went on to win two in a row against Southern.

Eugene's return helped Grambling storm through the SWAC to an 11-1 record and another championship in '05. After beating league opponents by an average of more than three touchdowns, Spears was named SWAC coach of the year.Next, however, came a three-win debacle in 2006.

"I hate to see any man get fired, but Spears may have doomed himself with other things besides wins and losses," said Grambling resident Paul Taylor, a News-Star fan blogger.

Spears' year was bookended by controversy, beginning with a NCAA inquiry launched in January. The probe, which is ongoing, reportedly focused on the eligibility of a series of transfer players.

Spears then became embroiled in another investigation, this one internal, after drug tests were administered to some football players just days after an embarrassing homecoming loss last November.

The University of Louisiana System also reportedly looked into that matter, which might have sped Spears' demise.

Even before his first season in 2004, an anonymous tip to the ULS board led to a probe that uncovered inaccuracies on Spears' resume. Spears flew to Arizona, where he completed routine paperwork and received a master's degree that he had long listed among his credentials but never received.

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Spears' fate tied to QBs
Coach's championship season sandwiched by inconsistency
December 19, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Grambling State's Melvin Spears got much different results without Bruce Eugene under center.

Together, they swept through the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2005, rewriting record books on the way to an undefeated league mark.

Apart, Spears managed just nine wins over two seasons. First, there was the 6-5 interim campaign in 2004, when Eugene was lost to a knee injury. Next came a dismal 3-8 slump in the just-completed '06 campaign, after Eugene's eligibility ran out.

"It was a situation where as a team, we didn't prove we could win without Bruce," said senior GSU receiver Henry Tolbert. "It started to seem like he was the thing that kept us above water."

Grambling has an historical average of just three losses per year during the past 60 years — a mark that was mirrored by former coach Doug Williams, who originally hired Spears as offensive coordinator, over the 1998-2003 seasons.

During that span, GSU would win a trio of league titles in 2000-02 under Williams and then again with Spears in 2005. The Tigers were also just one win away from the title match in both 1999 and 2003.

That very consistency made Spears' skids without Eugene all the more dramatic.

Spears cleared out his office on Monday afternoon, and took stock of his wild ride.

"I've been blessed to carry on the legacy of (former GSU coach) Eddie Robinson, Doug Williams and all those players who came before me," Spears said. "We won four championships, three as offensive coordinator and one as a head coach — and we graduated a lot of players. That's the important part."

Grambling had only dropped as many as eight games in a single season on two previous occasions, both in the twilight of Robinson's storied tenure.

Still, GSU kept most of its losses extremely close in 2006, falling by an average of just eight points. That had some players thinking Spears would be given another season to straighten things out.

"I just think he should have been given a chance to pull out of it," said redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Landers, who took the majority of the snaps this season.

Said Tolbert: "Everyone thinks we should always win at Grambling; that's the way it is. But how could you be in love with a coach one year and the next, he's out the door? I can't say I agree with it."

Not everyone wanted Spears to stay, including those still outraged over a late-season drug-testing controversy.

Asked after the finale against Alcorn State if he would return next season, backup sophomore quarterback Al Hawkins said: "Not if he does," referring to Spears.

Hawkins was one of several players to be tested in November, just weeks before the nationally televised Bayou Classic. Their families said they received signed letters from Spears that detailed the results, possibly violating privacy laws.

GSU quickly opened an investigation, one that focused on testing and reporting protocol. The University of Louisiana System Board, which oversees Grambling, also looked into the matter.
That, coupled with the NCAA's ongoing probe into the football program, may have proved to be the tipping point for Spears. GSU officials are not commenting on what precipitated his termination.

D'Wayne Priestly, a vocal booster, called the testing improper and said it left Grambling with no other choice.

"As a GSU alum, I opine this termination had to be done, to maintain the credibility and integrity of the university and its administration — not for Mr. Spears' 2006 record of 3-8, but for the misusage of drug testing practice and procedures," Priestly wrote in an e-mail sent overnight to Grambling President Horace Judson and copied to athletics director Troy Mathieu.

Spears said he was unsure late Monday how the remaining portion of his five-year contract, signed two seasons ago, would be handled.

Spears had a base salary of $150,000, which at the time made him the second-best paid coach in the SWAC behind Southern's Pete Richardson.

A final three-victory season meant Spears missed out on several incentives that pushed him closer to $200,000 in 2005 — including winning a conference title ($7,500), being named national black college champion ($5,000) and winning eight or more games ($5,000).
Without Eugene, everything changed.

"At Grambling, high expectations are part of the deal for the coach — and the quarterback," said Landers, a Carroll High product. "But from the outside looking in, people don't know what Coach Spears meant to this team. From champions to 3-8, I know was tough. But it (his firing) came as a surprise."

Photographs hanging throughout the Robinson Stadium Support Facility, framed in gold, feature Spears, Williams and Eugene during activities leading up to the 2005 SWAC Championship Game.

On Monday, that seemed like a very long time ago. Much longer than one calendar year.

"I'll have to thank Doug for giving me this opportunity," Spears said, finally. "I've cherished these moments."