And we continue on Jonas Naxen today for Rodney on a five seventy LA Sports. So last night we lost someone who made a great impact in the city of Los Angeles, longtime USC coach, longtime RAM coach, John Robinson, and John eighty nine years old, had not been in good health and we lost him last night. Our buddy Eric Dickerson played for him with the Rams and Eric comes in now. Eric, well you appreciate you jumping in here today, No problem, Fred, All right, did you know
John Robinson was ill? What did you think when you found out?
Yes, I'd heard about a week and a half ago that he was not doing well. I got a couple of Texas and then I talked to his wife last week in the last week, I think it was Saturday, I talked to his wife. I'd sent her a text and just totally give me a call when you get a minute that I left a voice message in min me back and she told me that it was She's Eric,
it's just a matter of time. He's in hospice and you know he's comfortable, but she says, it's just it's you don't know if it's gonna be a week three days, four days be a matter of time.
And it was, it was. It was.
It was shocking, you know, even though you know coach is eighty nine years old, but you just kind of forget, you know, because you know I'm sixty four, you know, I'm still thinking I'm young. But yeah, yeah, it was, it was. It was sad to hear it really was.
All right when you were select when when you were selected by the Rams. He was a coach, right right? What was that like?
Well, first of all, John Robinson recruited me to come to USC, uh Man, Johnny even came to Sealy, uh him and god was I forgot the other coach that came with him, John Jackson. John Jackson came with him to my hometown of Sealy, Texas and tried to get me to come to USC. And I really considered USC. Now that was one of my first official visits to a university that was coming. I came to USC and watched the I came to the Rose Bowl game when they played Michigan, and I think was the phantom fumble
that Charlie White had. I think he won the game. But I like coach Robinson, you know, it was he was he was he was a funny guy. He was like a one liner. He had some of these one liners, man, And he said, you just it was just he was funny, I mean, and just a really good human being and a really good coach.
All right, So when the Rams selected you and you walked in, what was it like? Because you said he did recruit you to go to USC, so then he sees you.
What was it like when he said when he when he saw me, and I forgot and he said, I'd forgotten that he had had recruited me and to come to us. You know, it's been been so long, and I you know, I knew kind of knew he was the head coach, but I forgot all about that that, you know, he recruited me. And when I walked in, he said, I finally got you, and I just started laughing. I'm like, oh, that's right, you recruited me to come to USC.
Uh.
You know, when I came up for my press conference, it was it was not like you know the deal they do today. You know, I came in for the press conference and talk to him, and I talked to Georgia a long talk with him, and uh, you know, it was just kind of you know, what they what they wanted, you know, when he's you know, seeing me play and all that kind of stuff and kind of
how he envisioned certain things with the offense. And and believe it or not, even though what we talked about then the offense changed from the time that you know, we got to training camp. You know, it was we
had we run the split back set. And I won't forget we played the Redskins in a preseason game and John Riggins was the was the running back at the one back set, and I was I think I was like on second team, you know, I was behind a couple of guys Robert Alexander, I can't think of the other guys behind you, Jerrell Thomas, Jerrell Thomas, and uh, we got beat up on in that in that preseason game. And I and he came in like the next day and said, forget everything we learned. He said, we're gonna
go to the one back set. He said, Eric, and you my back. And that's how that's kind of how I came the starter.
Uh. And once got in, was there a point where you knew, because he obviously did you were his guy? Uh?
Yeah, I mean I did. I mean, I won't forget. One day in practice, man, we ran we ran the ot play. It was kind of like the like the forty forty six and forty seven gap play. And I'm following the guard and the tackle and you know, I'm you know, I'm running. I'm running. I'm running. I'm running fast. But you know I don't. I don't do that, make it all run hardly, you know, like man crazy.
But I was.
I was running fast, you know, just to give them room to block and me make make a cut off of them. And John Blouet will stop, stop stop stopping. Oh say hold Eric, he said, you can't be out here jogging. I said, Coach, I'm not jogging. He said, he said running again. She ran it again, blueto whistle again. Eric, I said, coach, I'm telling you. I said, I'll tell you what. Coach, get out here and try to catch me and see if I'm jogging. So I think it
was my I think it was our fourth game. We played the New York Jets, and I had my eighty five yard touchdown run and I come to the sideline and he said, well, I guess you wasn't jogging in practice that day because it looked like he was jogging right there too, so I guess you were running fast.
All right, Now you get traded to the Colts, all right? What was that like with John Robinson?
Man? You know, I'm gonna tell you. The thing about that was that was just a bad deal. I mean, I never wanted to leave LA. I love playing for the for the Rams. I love playing for Coach Robinson, even though we as players knew the Rams are not all in on winning. I mean, we just saw we felt it because we wasn't doing some of the right things that we knew we needed.
But j R.
You know what they did to me, to jer A lot of guys said it. They put JR. In a position where he wanted him to keep us out of the front office asking for contracts and put him in the middle of it. And you know, man, I was making nothing. I mean I was making my first year. I was making one seventy five. The next year when after I take that back, I was making one fifty my next year. I was making one seventy five and a round for two thousand yards. Then I held out,
and I think then they upped me. But I wasn't happy with that. But you know, you had you kind of was stuck. I was making I was making like three fifty and uh it was it just it wasn't good. And but then when you know, the whole trade thing came up. Because then I'm like, you know, I went to I went to meet with John Shaw in la at his office. I won't forget it. And it's you know,
and think about it. It took me like three weeks to get a meeting with him, you know, and you know, think about your one of your star players, one of your players want to meet with you, and you're trying to meet with him, and it took that long. So and I go to meet with John Shaw. I go in his office and he says, so.
So Eric, So Eric, what do you want?
What are you meaning about?
I say, I said, John I said, man, my contract is not I said, come on, man, I know this contract ain't no good. And you know, I was like, I always think to mock him the way he sounds.
You have a contract.
I said, Well, I tell you what I said. This is what I'll do. I said, I left the league in Russian last year.
No you didn't, Walter Payton did he last league?
I said, John I left the league in Russian. I'm talking about John Shaw. I had eighteen twenty one. Oh, Walter, he said, let me get the book. I'll never forget. He goes up and get this book, opens it up, and I'm like this mug. I'm something like, oh you did. I said, yeah, I left the league in Russian, I said John. I said, look, I said, pay me like the quarterbacks are getting paid. I said, I'm like the quarterback of this team. I said, I'm a running back.
But I said what I'm doing. What quarterback does? I said this. I said, give me a contract Marino or always something similar to that. And I said, I tell you, I said. He said, well, Eric, I don't know about it. They said, no, we can't do it. I said, I tell you what. This is what I told him. I said, I said, if I have fifteen hundred yards or more rushing, give me that contract and we'll go year by year. I said, if not, I'll go back to my old contract. He sit there now, We're not gonna do that. And
I just said okay. And in that point I just knew it wasn't gonna work. I mean, it was just it was a debacle over there man, and it was I was frustrated. I love my teammates, you know. And it's funny how the media portrayed me at that time, as I was just n grade And I tell you, if I an't know the ningrade, well n grade and I was selfish, and nobody liked me on the team.
Man. We had one of the close We had.
A close knit football team, I mean a really close knit football team because John had it set up. I mean, the running game was us and all we needed was a quarterback. I mean really, and it was I was. I was sad to leave the Rams. I really didn't want to leave the Rams. I want And when I talked to I just I talked to Barbara a couple of days ago. She said, Eric, I want to tell you something. She said, John, She said, John loved you. She said. He said he hated the Rams for that.
He hated the Rams for for what they did. You and you know, and trade and you say, because he said he had everything set for for that team, and you and you know, I always felt that we were just a player or two away from a super Bowl here in LA. But we can never get the right players in place. I mean think about it. I mean, we had a we had a great defense, had a great offensive line to the NFC Championship game, and they go get a quarterback like, no, no offense. But Adita Brock,
Come on, man, I mean, let's be for real. I mean, they might as well they they might as well put you at quarterback, smaller, I mean really, I mean it was and we were and we are a team like man, he you know, I just got a call. I mean, I just you know, the truth is the truth. He was not a good quarterback. Nice guy, but it was not He was not accurate. He was short. I mean, we trying to roll out and throw the football and
it just it killed us. And then that year that you know, I got traded in the eighties eighty seven. I guess I won't forget. I told you I was a man. I was so mad at him. I was so pissited around because man, I was just frustrated. I mean, because I won't forget. I talked to my friend Roy Green, who played for the h he played for the eras the Saint Louis Cardinals at the time, saying they were in Saint Louis, and I said, ro I said, I
you know, I said, how much money you're making? You know, because we're friend, he said, My said, I think Sarah was six ninety. I said six hundred and ninety thousand times like damn, man, what I'm like, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.
I'm like, that's how much. I'm like, do you know how much I'm making?
I say, say, I say, I'm making like three I think I was making three hundred. They say, damn, they got the best deal in town on you. I mean, I'm leading the league in Russian you know, every year of most every year I was with the Rams, and it was just frustrating. Like I said, I went to Indianapolis, and I mean, look, only the reason I really went
there for sure because they paid me. They I mean, I went from making three hundred thousand to making a million at that Ye're making two million dollars in Indy. I mean, Fred, I mean, come on, then I had to take that money. I didn't. I didn't want to leave. I mean, I really did not want to leave the Rams,
but but I had to. And then on top of that, people don't know, you know, I had a I had my signing bonus down a sign because you know, I was allocation of signing the bos until you, Sarah, making make it seem like it's but it's really not signing. My signing the bonus is six hundred thousand dollars when I know my rookie, my Rickey's signing bonus. So what they did was it was supposed to be in a forgivableloan. So when I got traded, they made me pay it back.
And I probably didn't have to pay it back, but I was so pissed at them that the coach gave me a five hundred thousand dollars signing bonus to sign with them. So my salari was really one point five. My signing bones made it two million dollars. So I wrote them a check for I wrote the Rams a check for six hundred thousand dollars and gave them money back, and you know, and then I was.
Just I was just done.
I mean I was, you know, I gotta say, and I you know, as a as an athlete and especially as a black man, you know, you don't want to say your feelings are hurt. But man, I was really really hurt. I mean I was really hurt, you know, because at that, but I would do I mean I played hurt. I did anything that they asked me to do for that football team. And John two for John Robinson too, And I don't you know, for a while I did blame John, but I couldn't blame John because
I saw what they were doing to him. Man, John was just a he was a players coach. We loved him. I mean he was he was a likable coach. He was fun, he was fair, you know with the players. If you if you if you acted like a man, that's what I liked him. And run mind because if you act like a man, I treat you like a man. Maybe like kid him she's like a kid. But that's what That's what I liked about John Robertson.
Yeah, he seemed to have this this glow about him. Wherever he went, people just liked him.
You couldn't you could not like him because he just had these and I can't think of any it was just these one line was he pop out and you'd be sitting there like, okay, that's funny, man, it was just funny. I mean he just had he had that personality. He was casual, charismatic. I mean, he could talk to anyone, make anyone feel comfortable and talking to him. It wasn't like you talk to someone and you know, you go stop talking, like okay, then so what's next. It wasn't
like that with John. John was just he was just full of life. And you know, I, like I said, when when I heard he was ill, and I just saw him about about uh seven months ago at Marcus event. He Marcus had him come down to his event uh in San Diego, and we all hadn't had a big thing for him, and like I said, it was just it was good to see. It was good to see John,
you know, it really was. And uh, like I said, is his his wife said, Man, Eric, he just he just he hated the RAMS for what they did, you know, with that situation with you, and and so did I. I mean, I told you, man, I hate I hated the RAMS for a long time. I mean, I mean I hated that organization because I knew that they treated
me wrong. I mean, the they vilified me, made me like I was this bad, bad guy, like nobody I was arrogant nobody like I mean, because you know, back then, you know the writers they had they had to beat writers and the writers wrote with the with the team told him to write, you know, and and you know that's that's why like and I think about uh, my mother in football. She hated she hated football because she's Eric. You know, son, she said, I don't like that sport.
But I really hate what they write about you because that's not you. I know what kind of I know how I raised you. I know kind of son you are. And and and it was it was just it was just it was just a messed up the you know, I wish I go back, and I wish I could have stayed with the Rams. But I always say this, man, everything happens for a reason. I mean, and I believe that. I mean I was, I mean, I was meant to leave that football team. But while I was there, let
me tell you something. Fred teams feared us. Teams feared our running game. They feared you know when we came to town because they knew that we were gonna run the football. Now it's a way and if you couldn't stop it, oh we're gonna keep running it. That was the great thing about it. I mean, and uh and John knew how to run the football. I mean, it wasn't fancy. It was from all different kinds of sets and stuff. But I got to give him credit. Man,
he was a run genius. He knew how to run the football and John knew talent.
Yeah he rand it with the rams you ranted at USC two Yep, yep, student by the right student body left. Yep. Then it worked, Eric K, thanks for coming in, Thanks for sharing that stuff today. Hey, thank you, Fred. All Right, it was good to hear from Eric Dickerson and certainly losing John rob it was a very difficult thing. All Right, we've got to talk about some emotion. We got to talk about some emotion and we'll do that next. Jonas
Knoxen today for Rodney on seventy LA Sports. All right, So in competitive athletics, obviously the objective is to win really at any level. But you know, this is a different generation at a different time, and uh, oftentimes we don't see the same level of intensity or more over, there are times where when it's all over, when it's all said and done, it's the old you know what, we give it our best shot out there, right, Yeah, we did the best we could and let's celebrate. The
game is over. We lost, we lost. Are you on.
Are you one of those consolation prize guys, Fred?
No, yeah, no. When I used to coach the travel basketball team, so the kids are like twelve thirteen whatever. If you know you finished second in the tournament, they give you a medal. Right, we want a lot, But we finished second sometimes and uh, when they'd hand out the second place medals, our guys would go up and wouldn't take them. No, we don't if we didn't win, we don't want the medal, the consolation prize, the way to go.
I mean, look, you got to let him know like that this is not tolerated here. All right, we will not like second place is losing. Fred, Like, if you're not winning, then we don't want any of this rubbish. You're trying to throw it around our neck.
Well that you know that calls for the great Little Owen story. Who do you know the story of Little Owen?
No, I'm not familiar with Little Owen.
Uh, Kevin, should I tell Little Owen? Ronnie? Do you think I should tell it again?
Of course? Right, go ahead, a good Little Owen story there, Fred.
By the way, Fred, if Kevin had said no, you still would have said it would the story?
No, I do what Kevin says. Whatever Kevin says I.
Do, that's not one hundred percent true.
But you know I started doing that today.
Oh did you Yeah, and you change your mind tomorrow.
Well it's a new day, Kevin, But right now I do what you say.
It's a brand new day anyway.
So I'm coaching a basketball team. It's Josh's team. He always said, Dad, you always coach Jack's team, and say, when I want you to coach my team. Fine, I coached the gout shows. We have this group of players around us, and you know they were selected, and there's always that kid at the end. You know, he seems like a nice enough kid, nobody picks them. And the kid's name was Owen, so we called him Little Owen because Little Owen was short. He wore wire rim glasses,
and he shot with his left hand. And maybe these kids are ten at this point, they're like ten years old. So I call him around for the first practice, say I'll come into the key and we're talking, and you know, I'm holding the ball. I said, guys, what is our objective here? What are we trying to do here? What
are we trying to do? And I look around at all of them, and then I see little Owen and he is standing to my left, and Little Owen, as if he was in a sitcom or a commercial, takes his fist I'm set up into the air and makes this statement, we're here to have fun, just like that, and that's what you would expect somebody would do that. And I looked at him, I looked down at him. I said, no, Owen, we're not here to have fun. We're here to win. Winners win, losers lose. Winning is fun,
Losing is not. What are we here to do, Owen? When yes, that's what we're here to do. We're not just here to go through the motions that we're going to be competitive and we're going to win. And I told that story to a group of parents at one point they were horrified, horrified, How could you say that, it's a little Owen, because that's the objective here in life. You don't get the consolation prize. Hey, if you didn't lose, what are you If you didn't win, what are you?
Your first loser? You're not second place? You still lost. And when you teach people, well, the objective is to win, then they don't want to settle for second place.
Why didn't you just do the decent thing and cut him in front of everybody. I did that to another kid, like, I mean, but it's a teaching moment for Owen, who you just shamed on the air and said he's never going to play anyways because the guy looks like Egon, Like okay, well you look like that little kid from Little Giants who had the snot bubbles like you. I mean, like, what's the just cut him?
Well, you can't cut him that. That's a teaching moment, Joe.
Why not?
Why so make up a story that he was using steroids like dud like, do something decent for once in your life.
Red, I could assure you I could never have made that story up that he was using steroids.
Or you could just be like if the parent came back to you and said, I mean yeah, but like look it's not working, and just be like, no, we don't know that. Just imagine how bad he'd be if he wasn't on the gas.
Well there's that. I could have tried that. Yeah, but I let little Owen go. And by the way, the Gauchos didn't win the championship, Thank.
You did Little owen get a ring or like a bracelet or anything to go along with it.
I think they got a ring pop. I can't remember. We got trophy. I think everybody got a trophy.
By the way, you big fan of ring pops.
I don't mind them.
Kind of an interesting, uh, kind of an interesting little gimmick they had going on there, right, you know, just like you can just lick your hands, so everything it looks like they're like they're a cat.
It's weird. But you know what, the thing that's interesting because I used to just lick my hands, So that's why it's good they created ring pops. I've heard and there was something to lick on my hands. It was a problem I had as a child. I'm not gonna lie.
Somebody wrote that on a stall at Staples Center back in the day about you, all right.
So anyway, Georgia coach Kirby Smart called backup safety Jake Pope's actions just stupid.
Like alfraidous road right through that one.
After the player was caught seemingly celebrating with old miss fans on the field on the wake of the rebels twenty eight ten victory over the then number three Bulldogs. So what happened was the guy lost, but then was celebrating with the fans that won. Kirby Smart the coach said that was just playing stupid. First, you shouldn't be celebrating with them, and second, you shouldn't be celebrating with them after we lost. What do you think of that? Jonas?
Now, how much playing time did this guy get?
No, it doesn't matter.
Okay, So this is what I wonder. Have they started to look into this a little bit like maybe, Well, I'm not trying to make any false accusations, Okay, I'm just simply asking the question. There have been some incidents that have taken place in football over the past couple of years, in the NFL and in college where people, as it turns out, may or may not, have had
a little bit of money on the game. Sure, and I just wonder was he maybe celebrating because he had a little bit of coin on the game and his bet came through, And maybe there needs to be a bigger investigation into this.
So you're suggesting that Jake Pope may have profited from his team's loss.
I'm just I'm asking the quote, like why would you go over and celebrate? Like why would that be something you would do? Everybody knows, like, hey, you know there's a time and a place. You know, this is not the time and place for this. We just lost this game. You know, it's our second loss of the season. It's a mistake to go over there and celebrate, Like why would you like if that's the case? Like, what do we look? I mean, you got to do a deeper dive on this.
Well, I'm looking at the box.
Jonas and Jake Pope did not register the no tackles nothing, so.
And maybe that would and maybe that was it. He ran in the game and did nothing.
I mean so. He spent a couple of seasons at Alabama before he transferred. Apparently he took to social media afterwards because that'll make everything right, Like, and especially college football fans in the SEC, they're really a forgiving bunch when it comes to making mistakes. They're not going to hold hold anything again. And he just blah blah blah
blah blah. Sorry, sorry, sorry, this is not representative of who I am in any other well kind of is this was coach called him an idiot's own it's a dumb thing to do unless he had money on the game.
But here's the thing. The feeling is that the guy he was celebrating with with the Ole Miss fans, that guy was a childhood friend and he hadn't seen him for years. So what you're saying is they both had money on the game.
They must have also. By the way, if it's a childhood friend that you haven't seen in years, we call that. We call that a stranger. Okay, there's a reason why you haven't seen him in years because he probably sucked as a kid, and he probably sucks even more now. Like this, like, if he's a friend, why has it been years since you've seen him? That This isn't like you know some kid who was like taken away from his family and you find out like all these years
he's playing on the Dominican Little League team. Like like, what are we talking about here? Like if he's not a friend, Like, hey, like, who is so and so a childhood friend of yours? Well, I don't know. I'm not a child anymore. And if we haven't kept in touch since then probably not. I don't know what to tell you.
So all your theory about the money now makes more sense.
Yeah, Like what are we talking about? Well, I haven't seen him in years. Well, whose fault is that? I mean, so this is the time. Hey, let's get together, Like if you just ran into each other, Like did he not know he was playing for the other team? Does he not have a scouting report like that? Like none of it makes sense. There needs to be an investigation. I want to know whether or not this guy had money on the game. That's what I want to know.
And even if he didn't have money, I would look at it like this. This is a function of everybody gets a trophy. Everybody's a winner. Hey, we lost, but you won, So I'm gonna run over and celebrate with you because you know that feeling that you won is as good for me. So I'm with you, buddy, my pal who I haven't seen in years, I'm with you. Hey, anybody, no one's a loser, everybody's a winner. Jonas, Well, here's a follow up for you.
Whatever happened to Egon or Lucas or whatever that kid's name was that you ashamed in front of everybody who had the big glasses and like pencils for arms, Like, what happened to him?
He's either running Google or he's in parts.
Unknown how long ago we talking here?
Fourteen years?
Oh yeah, and that probably sat with him for a.
While, and that's why he's a winner today. Yeah, and you know what, don't say thank you. Don't say thank you.
Yeah, don't dare, don't you dare even think about it.
You're welcome. Okay, we'll come back and say goodbye after this. Jonas not sitting in today for Rodney and Jonas, I really want to thank you.
I mean, it's the least I could do, you know. I mean, you just you inspired the masses, Fred, And so the least I could do is show up and give my all, because God forbid, I don't want to be a little Egon standing there, you know, trying in a basket that too, whatever his name is. But I don't want to be him standing there trying to get excited about playing in a basketball game, and have you shame me? So I just wanted to do a solid show here and.
I thought you did what you know, as we wrap up today, and it's maybe something we should do more. What do we take away from today's program? What are the moments that will carry with us? Jonas?
Moments will carry you with us? Are that the Dodgers are flirting with showhit with Juan Soto potentially landing him, which we both agree is not going to happen whatsoever. We also talked with Jacob and Ronnie about just sort of how to handle situations and also what he feels like the LA sports scene is like with the Dodgers. But my biggest takeaway, yes, of the show, yes, is that this town has a hangover. The Dodgers were so magical and so amazing and so special that everything in
town since then just can't compare quite yet. I mean, it'll take a little time they're gonna get but you obviously we got usc UCLA next week. It'll take a little time for everything else to start to bubble back up again. But I think people are exhausted and big and fat and happy with what they saw from the Dodgers.
All right, Here's what I think I took away from the show today. What's that that a you're of the opinion that college football is fixed? That we had a player from Georgia actually bet against his own team and then was celebrating on the field after Georgia lost. That's correct, Okay, I took that away from the show. I also took away from the show that Lincoln Riley may have been
a bad match for the USC job. On paper, it looked pretty good upon closer inspection, perhaps not so good that he has not lived up to whatever expectation there was, and the expectation certainly is it would be better than it is. So I took that away from today's program as well. I also took away the fact that both of us agree relegation would be wonderful in professional sports.
I mean, yeah, let's spicing this thing up. Come on, like I stopped rewarding mediocrity and stop giving away number one picks to teams that finished last in their league. Just take them out of the league altogether.
I think it would work. And I'll tell you one thing. You'd see a lot guys, a lot more guys playing a lot harder. Yeah, if they knew next year they'd be on the South Bay Lakers, No, they wouldn't mind. They'd be with Brownie James.
Oh that's right.
Lebron would have a chance to play with his son if the Lakers got relegated, they could play together and elsa guns See.
That felt unnecessary. That felt like the same guy who shamed the kid with glasses. That's enough, all.
Right, before we go.
We don't want to ask Paulie and Fritzie what they learned today too. That's what it seems like, what we're doing.
Okay, here's the thing, Kevin. I didn't say, what did we learn?
Oh, well done?
I said, what do we take away? Oh?
I see semantics? Fred? No, you know, Fred, the more you know it's new.
It's a new twist on an old thing. Cue the graphic, Ronnie, thank you, Kevin, appreciate it, Jonas. Let's do it again.
Tomorrow, Let's do it always.
Fine