Steve Kragthorpe hasn’t had much luck against Greg Robinson. Kragthorpe, the head coach of Louisville, has lost both meetings with Robinson’s Syracuse squad. SU upset Louisville in September 2007, and then defeated the Cardinals 28-21 this season in the Carrier Dome on Nov. 1.

That pair of upsets wasn’t enough for Robinson. With the fourth-year head coach unable to sustain success, Syracuse Director of Athletics Daryl Gross announced Sunday Robinson will not return next season. A day later, Kragthorpe and other Big East coaches responded to Robinson’s firing.

‘I think Greg is a great person and a great football coach, but unfortunately in this industry if you don’t win football games you don’t get to work anymore,’ Kragthorpe said Monday during the Big East coaches’ teleconference. ‘I think he is a fine, fine coach. He’s beaten us plenty here.’

In his second season with the Cardinals, Kragthrope owns an 11-11 record as head coach. Louisville is currently ranked sixth in the conference, sitting only above South Florida (6-4, 1-4 Big East) and Syracuse (2-8, 1-5 Big East).

Robinson’s firing marks the sixth college head coach to be fired mid-season in 2008, and the only one from the Big East. Robinson holds a 9-36 record over four seasons with the Orange, including a 3-24 mark in conference play.

‘The timing (of Robinson’s firing) is kind of the move that a lot of guys are making these days,’ Kragthorpe said. ‘In terms of making a change, they are going to go ahead and make the change a littler earlier than they used to so they can go ahead, and for recruiting purposes.’

Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt said letting Robinson go before the end of the season may not help Syracuse’s recruiting for next season.

‘Time will tell if letting Robinson go was the right decision, and time will tell if it will help with recruits,’ Wannstedt said during the teleconference. ‘But I don’t know if the timing (of Robinson’s firing) will affect the recruiting in any positive way.

‘Greg’s a friend of mine. It’s a tough business and Greg has done everything he can do to try.’

Wannstedt coached his team back from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit Sept. 27 in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse. In a game that seemed destined to end in the Orange’s favor, the Panthers (7-2, 3-1 Big East) out-scored Syracuse 18-0 in the fourth quarter to cement SU’s first Big East loss of the 2008 season.

West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart knows the pressure a restless fan base can apply. The first-year head coach dropped two of his first three games this season, causing many Mountaineers fans to question his ability to control the traditionally prominent program.

‘Greg Robinson is a friend of mine. Greg Robinson is a class act. Greg Robinson is a heck of a football coach,’ Stewart said Monday in a teleconference.

The Mountaineers (6-3, 3-1 Big East) snuck past the Orange, 17-6, on Oct. 11. Syracuse never held the lead in the loss.

‘I absolutely hate it with all my heart to see such a class act leave the Big East,’ Stewart said.

Gross said the search to replace Robinson has started but will remain confidential until a decision has been made. The New York Times reported in October that Syracuse hired Chuck Neinas, a renowned coaching consultant, to help find a replacement for Robinson. The New York Times also reported Neinas had contacted Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall to gauge his interest in the position. Neinas and the Syracuse athletic department denied these reports to The Daily Orange.

Edsall, a Syracuse alum and former backup quarterback for the Orangemen, told The Day (Conn.) early Monday that he was not interested in the SU job. He sang a similar tune on the Big East coaches’ teleconference.

‘I’m just concerned with the University of Connecticut and this weekend and what we can do to make our program better each and every day,’ Edsall said on the teleconference.

Two games remain on Syracuse’s schedule, only one of which, Cincinnati, is a Big East opponent. After traveling to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame Saturday, the Orange will journey to first-place Cincinnati (8-2, 4-1 Big East) on Nov. 29 for its season finale and Greg Robinson’s final game as Syracuse head coach.

‘Greg is a doggone good football coach,’ Stewart said. ‘My heart goes out to him and his family in his remaining time at Syracuse and in the future.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on November 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm