John Robinson, the affable head coach who guided the University of Southern California football team to four Rose Bowl victories and one national championship and took the Los Angeles Rams to the brink of two Super Bowls, died on Monday in Baton Rouge, La. He was 89.
U.S.C. said the cause was complications of pneumonia.
Robinson had a reputation as a players’ coach who didn’t take himself seriously in his 27 years leading the U.S.C. Trojans, the Rams and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Rebels.
Jim Murray, a sports columnist for The Los Angeles Times, described Robinson as nothing like old school coaches who were remote or whose ill-temper put the fear of God in players.