A minor whirlwind of coaching changes blew over Syracuse in the past month. When the dust settled last week SU head coach Greg Robinson officially announced the new director of football operations and the final member of his coaching staff.

Last week, Robinson appointed former Northwest (Md.) High School head coach Randy Trivers to fill the resulting vacancy left by Desmond Robinson, who was promoted to director of football operations.

The coaching chain reaction started when Director of Football Operations Reggie Terry announced he was taking a job with the Arizona Cardinals on June 6. Following a brief search, former SU running backs coach Desmond Robinson was named Terry’s replacement.

Midway through the summer, the Syracuse football team finally has its coaching staff sorted out. And the head coach seems satisfied with who he’ll have with him on the sideline entering his third season as SU’s head coach.

‘What I see here is a win-win situation,’ Greg Robinson said. ‘It took me a little more time than maybe I would have expected it to take. It was well worth it to me because I feel very good about it.’

His years of experience contributed to the decision of making Desmond Robinson the new director of football operations. Robinson has worked just about everywhere from tradition-rich programs like Notre Dame to NFL Europe in his 25 years of coaching.

Robinson will now hold the administrative position of overseeing the entire football team and reporting on how it is running on all aspects from academics to recruiting. The job could look a little overwhelming to Robinson in the sense that he’ll go from dealing with a few running backs to an entire football team, but Robinson believes there’s already a formula for success laid out for him and he’s eager to stay on that track.

Terry maintained the position at Syracuse for seven years before taking over as Arizona’s director of football administration.

‘I think it’s a little different when you’re dealing with five than when you are dealing with 100,’ Robinson said. ‘You hope that you have strong organizational skills that can lead you in that direction.’

Still, Robinson’s move might only look like a small step when compared to the huge leap Trivers will be making.

While Trivers has some experience coaching at the college level, most of his practice has come as a high school head coach. Until he took the position at Syracuse, Trivers was Northwest High School’s only head coach in the school’s history. He coached for nine seasons and led the Washington, D.C.-based school to a 3A state championship in 2004. And Greg Robinson stated Trivers’ connections to the nation’s capital could play a key role in the Orange’s future recruiting ventures.

Greg Robinson emphasized it is Trivers’ passion and knowledge of football that landed him the job in Central New York, not his recruiting links in D.C.

Trivers will have his hands full at his new position. The Orange possesses a talented, but beleaguered running back core.

Projected starting running back Delone Carter was lost for the 2007 season due to a hip injury in the spring. Curtis Brinkley, who started in tandem with Carter last season, inherits the starting position. But if Brinkley’s oft-injured knees plague him during the regular season, Trivers will be hard pressed to find a dependable replacement. Besides Carter and Brinkley, the rest of Syracuse’s running backs have minimal game experience.

Nevertheless, Trivers said he does not feel intimidated by his new role, noting he’s eager to be Greg Robinson’s student for the next season.

‘If you talk with people on the pro level, college level or high school level coaching is ultimately just coaching. Motivating, leading and communicating,’ Trivers said. ‘I hope my experiences and my past history as far as winning and having success can carry over and assist and help this program.’

Published on June 26, 2007 at 12:00 pm