HBCU Coach Profile: Eddie Robinson, Grambling State University

On this edition of HBCU Coach Profile, we will be highlighting former Grambling State Tigers football coach Eddie Robinson.

Coach Eddie Robinson briefly attended Southern University before transferring to the now-defunct HBCU Leland College where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English. After graduating from Leland College, Eddie Robinson took the head coaching job for the Grambling State football team.

Coach Robinson would go on to coach the Grambling State Tigers football for a whopping 56 years from 1941-1997. In his 56 years with the Tigers football program, he recorded an overall record of 408-165-15 including 27 consecutive winning seasons between 1960-1986 and 45 winning seasons overall. His 408 career wins make him the winningest head football coach of all HBCU football programs and the third-winningest head coach in all of college football.

In addition, Robinson led the Tigers to 17 SWAC championships including winning four straight SWAC championships three times and nine Black College National Championships

During his tenure at Grambling State, Robinson coached 100 eventual NFL players including Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams, Super Bowl and AFL champion Buck Buchanan, 3x Super Bowl champion Willie Brown, 2x Super Bowl champion and 5x NFL champion Willie Davis and 3x Pro Bowler Charlie Joiner. The latter four players (Buchanan, Brown, Davis, and Joiner) are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Eddie Robinson was inducted into the SWAC Conference Hall of Fame in 1992, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, and the inaugural Black College Football Hall of Fame class in 2010.

On April 3, 2007, Coach Eddie Robinson passed away at the age of 88.

Today, we recognize Eddie Robinson, Grambling State University's head football coach for 56 years. At a time when African Americans weren’t allowed to play for southern college programs, Robinson transformed Grambling into a college football powerhouse. #BHM #lagov #GramFam pic.twitter.com/lB7zI2tR8b

— Gov. John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) February 28, 2020