Let’s face it: This isn’t a difficult argument to make. Why fire Syracuse football head coach Greg Robinson midseason? Jeez. The reasons stare everyone – the fans, the media, Syracuse Director of Athletics Daryl Gross – in the face.

There’s the dwindling attendance figures (the 27,549 turnout for Pittsburgh last Saturday was the lowest at home attendance since 1986) and the malaise and discontent of the fan base. There’s the program’s mutation from powerhouse to punch line. There’s the dearth of recruits (just four commitments for next year’s class).

And, more than anything else, there’s Robinson’s record since he arrived in 2005.

Wins: eight. Losses: thirty-two. Robinson is 8-32 in his three-plus seasons. There is a cold reality in those numbers, an easy trump card to explain why this head coach should be axed sooner than later.

This year is only an extension of that. The Orange is 1-4. While the offense has improved under new coordinator Mitch Browning, the defense has floundered. This unit ranks below 100th place in every major statistical category right now: Rushing defense, passing defense, total defense, sacks, whatever, name a stat, the Orange probably dwells in the basement.

Oh, by the way, Robinson runs the defense.

And there’s adversity on the horizon. Syracuse heads to West Virginia and South Florida these next two weeks. There is little point playing out the string if the Orange gets pummeled again.

Because this is not a referendum on the players. They are young. They are playing hard. They deserve a head coach who can maximize that effort.

So if the harsh numbers aren’t enough to convince you, here’s some extra nuance:

Firing Robinson takes the heat off Daryl Gross.

Gross put a bull’s-eye on his own back when he brought Robinson back after last season. The Orange sputtered to a 2-10 record in 2007, and Robinson’s own record rested at 7-28.

Yet Gross retained Robinson. Some said it was about saving money. Some said it was about fairness. Coaches deserve time to play with their own recruits.

Robinson has now gotten his extra time. And it’s blown up in Gross’ face. Robinson’s failures have become Gross’.

Gross was booed at halftime of the Penn State game. He was (unfairly) ripped for that cell phone thing at Northwestern. A group of former players, led by former standout fullback Rob Konrad, wrote him a letter, explaining how the program must be rebuilt.

Removing Robinson alleviates all that pressure. A clean break, and Gross can focus on finding a qualified, quality new coach, something he’s done, with one glaring exception, since he took over the athletic department.

Firing Robinson takes a burden off the players.

A pall surrounds this program right now, with Syracuse supporters vehement for Robinson’s dismissal. Callers vent on talk radio and readers rage on message boards online.

But the players on this team say they don’t listen to any of that. Greg Robinson is their coach. They don’t let the groundswell to remove their leader affect them. They remain in the bunker of the locker room, impervious to the outside world.

‘Yeah, don’t believe it,’ said Curt Lox, a sports psychologist and associate dean at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. ‘Of course they pay attention.’

The departure of Robinson, the sunny symbol of Syracuse football’s failure, removes some of that stress. This team has an overwhelming majority of underclassmen on its roster. Firing this coach sends a message: The athletic department will no longer let them flounder under Robinson.

Firing Robinson gets rid of Robinson.

Well, duh. But it’s important.

Here’s a fun game. Pick the highlight of Greg Robinson’s tenure.

The lowlights are easy (between Florida State in 2005, West Virginia in 2006, Iowa in 2007 and Akron this season, Robinson’s reign feels like one sustained nadir, always spiraling lower and lower). But highlights don’t come cheap. And they don’t feel like much of anything.

How about the Wyoming game in 2006? Delone Carter broke out, scored four touchdowns, two in overtime to win at the Carrier Dome.

Yes, that was nice. Except the team lost the following five games.

Well, there’s always that Louisville win last year, right? That was shocking: a wild win when facing a ranked team on the road.

Except we soon found out Louisville stunk. And, as usual, the Orange lost seven of its next eight.

Slim, hollow pickings, it seems.

There’s little reason to deal with any more of this. No need for a defensive coach that doesn’t use a nickel package and doesn’t blitz. No need for a coach who refuses to go for a 4th-and-1 in enemy territory and gives up an opportunity like he did in last Saturday’s 34-24 meltdown against Pitt.

‘My record speaks for itself,’ Greg Robinson said last year. He was 7-26 at that point.

Let’s face it: His record still rings out, loud and clear. So do the reasons to fire him.

Andy McCullough is the enterprise editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear occasionally. You can reach him at ramccull@syr.edu.

Published on October 5, 2008 at 12:00 pm