Greg Robinson faced the media for the last time as Syracuse’s head football coach with a story to tell. Shortly into his farewell press conference Tuesday afternoon, Robinson pulled out a piece of paper, and started to read a synopsis of the children’s book ‘The Little Engine That Could.’ The tale, Robinson said, was a metaphor for the Orange football program during his tenure.

After a few minutes, he paused in his narration and asked a reporter in the attendance to recite the famous line the engine used to will itself up the mountain: ‘I think I can.’

‘Well you know what?’ Robinson responded. ‘I still think I can. I do.’

With that message, Robinson’s tumultuous four-year tenure with the Orange officially ended. Of course, he will never have the chance to prove if he actually can. He was fired two weeks ago and leaves Syracuse with a lifetime record of 10-37 in four seasons.

Outwardly, he was his usual chipper self Tuesday, bantering with reporters and trying to remain composed. But his voice wavered, his face flushed, and tears rushed to his eyes, especially while reading from the book and talking about the current seniors. Robinson arrived at the Iocolano-Petty Football Complex wearing a brown-checkered button-down shirt and dark pants – not a speck of Syracuse in his attire, for a change.

He spoke for almost 33 minutes, including a 16-minute, unprompted opening statement, about his love for the program and regret about what has transpired.

He spoke about his undying optimism and hope for the program he is about to depart, using the Little Engine as a symbol of how his own dreams and expectations at SU will now never be fulfilled.

‘My stomach is sick. I need relief,’ Robinson said. ‘I need a pill, because I’m sick to my stomach that it’s done. That’s what I hate. It’s what’s in my gut. Shoot. That’s the biggest regret. Pulling boxes into my office. That’s ugly. It is.’

Robinson fielded questions about what went wrong these past four years, which he answered cautiously, careful not to make excuses or criticize former coach Paul Pasqualoni. Still, he emphasized the players on the team are better now than when he took over before the 2005 campaign.

He said if he could have one do-over, he would have pushed the administration harder to bring quarterback Colt Brennan to Syracuse. Brennan planned to join the Orange but was not allowed to enroll at SU because of outstanding legal charges. He ended up at Hawaii, where he set the NCAA Division record for most touchdown passes in a single-season (58) in 2006.

Though Robinson tried not to blame anyone but himself for his team’s poor performance, he referenced Syracuse’s tough schedule, which is ranked eighth-toughest in the nation.

Robinson also discussed the difficulty of losing receivers Taj Smith (NFL Draft) and Mike Williams (academic suspension) before this season to explain some of the offense’s struggles.

But Robinson kept the tone positive, often gushing about both the university and the city. He said he expects to be back in coaching next season, but it doesn’t mean he’s ready to leave.

‘It’s a great place, it’s a great school,’ Robinson said. ‘It really is. It has some uphill battles, but you know what? That’s Central New York at times, too. That’s what I hate. I don’t want to quit the fight. I want to keep fighting.’

At one point, a reporter asked Robinson what will keep him up at night in the future, looking back on what he could not accomplish at Syracuse. To that question, Robinson delivered probably his most impassioned and heartfelt response of the afternoon. It was about his disappointment that he did not win with the Orange, that he could not deliver on Director of Athletics Daryl Gross’ vision of Big East titles and even national championships.

Perhaps most importantly, his response focused on his insatiable desire for a fifth season, almost pleading for one more shot he knows will not come.

‘It isn’t what I didn’t get done. It’s that it’s not finished,’ Robinson said. ‘It’s not finished. We can always go back to a play or this or that. No. It’s just not finished. It’s not finished. I’d like that last year. I’d like that last year. It’s just a work in progress.

‘It’s right there. I think I can. I do. I can show you.’

But he will have to leave that job for somebody else. Gross is already in full-swing looking for Syracuse’s next coach. And after waxing poetic about the past four years for more than half an hour, Robinson left the auditorium for the final time, knowing he will not be able to complete what he believes he started.

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Published on December 2, 2008 at 12:00 pm