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Do IT this week: Layering
Zips' Brookhart gives credit to rival coach for vital personal favor
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Saturday, Sep 06, 2008
Once, they were mentor and pupil. Now, they are equals, friends and opponents.
J.D. Brookhart, 43, coach of the University of Akron, and Greg Robinson, 56, coach of Syracuse University, will be on opposite sidelines today as their football teams meet in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
They met in 1995, when Brookhart made a fateful and difficult decision to leave a lucrative position in the business world to try this thing called coaching. Brookhart volunteered to be an unpaid assistant coach with the Denver Broncos, and Robinson was in the first of his six years as the team's defensive coordinator.
''When I volunteered for Denver for two years, they really didn't have a position for me. He eventually grabbed me,'' Brookhart said. ''He starting having me do the breakdowns of the offense, doing graduate-assistant type of work.''
But it was work in football, which is what Brookhart wanted.
His father, Jack, was a high school coach for 37 years in Colorado, and Brookhart took to the sport as a player, starting for three years at receiver for Colorado State. In 1988, he was a free agent with the Los Angeles Rams, but he was cut in the preseason.
Brookhart, an Academic All-American at CSU as a senior in 1987, then spent six years developing his career in sales and marketing. However, the yearning for football resurfaced, and the Broncos were the closest geographical option, even though his income dropped from six figures to nil, with a profile to match.
''At first, he [Robinson] thought I was a CSU coach that was visiting,'' Brookhart said. ''He didn't know my background. He thought I was there for the summer.''
When Robinson learned the truth and that Brookhart's pay was not commensurate with his contributions, a professional and personal closeness developed.
''He took care of me on road games. He would take me out and buy me a steak,'' Brookhart said. ''His wife was always very good to me. His son is a great kid; they were very much like family to me.''
After two years with the Broncos, Brookhart knew it was time to move on. Robinson was a friend of Walt Harris, who was then head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Robinson recommended Brookhart, who was hired by Harris in 1997 as a tight ends/specialist teams assistant.
Brookhart advanced up the coaching ladder in seven years at Pitt before taking over the Zips in 2004. He has not forgotten the role that Robinson has played in his career.
''He is the reason I got a job in this business. He made a big play to Walt Harris at Pitt to hire me,'' Brookhart said. ''Without that call, I don't know what I would be doing right now. So I owe a lot to him.''
Robinson, who is in his fourth year as head coach at Syracuse, has respect for Brookhart as a man and as a coach.
''J.D. is a great person. I like him a lot. We have been good friends for a lot of years,'' Robinson said during a Big East Conference teleconference for coaches. ''He is a good football coach. He has his players' best interests in mind. He is a bright football coach who relates well and teaches well.''
But for three hours today, friendship will be put aside as they lead teams desperately trying to avoid starting the new season at 0-2.
The Zips were beaten at Wisconsin 38-17 last Saturday, falling behind 17-0 early in the second quarter and allowing 404 yards rushing to the Badgers.
On the same day, Syracuse lost at Northwestern 30-10. In that game, former Archbishop Hoban standout Tyrell Sutton, the Beacon Journal's Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004, rushed for 144 yards on 21 carries and caught four passes for 41 yards for the Wildcats. Meanwhile, former Copley star Delone Carter, the Beacon Journal Player of the Year in 2005, ran for 45 yards on six carries for the Orange after missing the 2007 season with a hip injury.
Carter and fellow tailback Curtis Brinkley probably will be key performers today as Syracuse tries to run the ball as effectively as the Badgers did.
Another key is how well Brookhart and Robinson fare as friends turned adversaries.
''It's fun and exciting to go head to head with J.D.,'' Robinson said.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Once, they were mentor and pupil. Now, they are equals, friends and opponents.
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