What he did: Jimmy Robinson is the answer to an interesting and unusual trivia question. Not that there's isn't another person out there who played high school, college and professional football in metro Atlanta, the latter two also as a coach. But it's doubtful you are going to find one wearing a Super Bowl ring.
Robinson, all 5 feet 8 and 170 pounds of him, was a star receiver at Georgia Tech, then drafted by the Falcons and would return to his alma mater as an assistant coach. He also coached some of the best wide receivers that have played in the NFL including the dynamic group led by Jordy Nelson that helped guide Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to a Super Bowl XLV win in 2011 when Robinson was with Green Bay. Robinson proved size mattered little, moving from New York to Atlanta as a teenager and attending then-new Ridgeview High School (today a middle school) in Sandy Springs where he credits two of his football coaches (Georgia High School coaching legends Dave Hunter and Ray Allen) for his love for coaching.
Coming out of high school, he had only a few colleges interested in him but Tech took a chance and he arrived there in 1971, the last year freshmen couldn’t play varsity. He broke his ankle the second day of practice, played in a few freshman games before having a great spring practice and would start his final three seasons on the Flats, catching 101 passes for 1,633 yards and 13 touchdowns. His stats suffered somewhat his senior year (19 receptions) when Pepper Rodgers took over the program in 1974 and installed the option. Robinson wasn’t sure where he would be drafted during a time when the NFL Draft went 17 rounds. That season the Falcons had taken quarterback Steve Bartkowski as the No. 1 overall pick and Robinson was chosen in the 15th round, No. 367 overall. At the time, the Falcons had talented receivers (Ken Burrow, Alfred Jenkins, Wallace Francis) and he was the team’s final cut, losing the job to world-class sprinter Gerald Tinker who was the second-round pick a year before.
But Robinson then caught on in New York with the Giants, where he played four seasons and actually scored the first touchdown by a Giant (a pass from Craig Morton) in what was then new Giants Stadium. He would spend a total of six years in the NFL, traded to San Francisco where he played under Bill Walsh and finally going to Denver for a season under Dan Reeves before retiring.
He then came back to Atlanta and went into private business before getting the coaching bug and joining Rodgers, who was the head coach of the Memphis Showboats in the United State Football League. It was a short two-season run as the league went under and Robinson came back to Tech, joining the staff of Bobby Ross for three seasons.
Then came his break into the NFL as it was a short trip across town when he was hired by Falcons coach Jerry Glanville. It was the first of six assistant jobs in the league, going to Indianapolis, the Giants, New Orleans, Green Bay and finally Dallas, his last season being 2012. The receivers he tutored included Nelson, Andre Rison (Falcons), Marvin Harrison Colts), Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard (Giants), Joe Horn (Saints) and Dez Bryant (Cowboys).
Where he lives: Robinson, 62, has been married to Karen for 31 years and lives in Sandy Springs. He has four children, Jamie, Jessica, Jim Jr. and Katie, and five grandchildren. Interestingly, all four of his children went to Georgia Tech, his three daughters graduating while his son transferred to SCAD in Savannah and finished his degree there.
What he does now: He is retired and spent last season following Tech's great run, attending the ACC Championship game and Orange Bowl. He said, "I took a year off with the intention to go back but when you walk away the next job is not easy to get … but I would never say never.''
On playing at Tech: "I was a little runt and came in with Randy Rhino and Eddie Ellerbee. It was the last class that freshmen were not eligible and freshmen didn't report back then until after Labor Day. I remember after the season this pamphlet came out called 'The Yellow Jacket Confidential' and it had a list of freshman that were expected to help the next season. I wasn't even on the list. They even had one player on the list under receiver who wasn't a receiver. It really upset me and was a great motivator. I had a great spring and was the starter for the ('72) opener. I remember Furman Bisher writing about that game and calling it 'Suicide at Cocktail Hour.' We got killed by Tennessee (34-3) but I had accomplished something, I was in the lineup.''
On the controversial suspension of Tech's first African-American quarterback, Eddie McAshan in 1972: "A bunch of us went down to Friedman's Shoe Store on the Thursday before the Georgia game and we saw Eddie there. Then we went to practice and he wasn't there. We didn't really know what was going on. We later found out that Eddie had gone in and asked for more tickets (to the Georgia game) and was denied and he didn't show up for practice and was suspended. For me and being selfish, he was my guy. We had really connected that year and in the Georgia game we got our butt kicked. Jim Stevens came in for Eddie and did the best he could but it was never a close game. But we then went to the Liberty Bowl and Jim had a big game and was the MVP. We beat Iowa State 31-30 and it is funny to think about how pass-happy the game is now but in that game Jim completed 12 out of 15 passes for three touchdowns; one of them to me.''
On getting drafted by the Falcons: "I kept waiting and waiting and finally I got a call from the Falcons. It was cool going to the hometown team and I gave it a good run but they had a lot of talent.''
On his return to coaching at Tech: "Funny, I went down to see Bill Curry at Tech and I was all set to coach with him. But then Bill went to Alabama and said he didn't have room for me. Tech hired Bobby Ross and I must have left him 400 messages. But my ace in the hole was (former Tech QB) Kim King and got me into to see Bobby. I had stayed in close touch with Bill Walsh and Bobby called him and Bill gave me the best recommendation. The next morning I came back from Mass and my wife was over in the corner with the phone in her hand. She said it was Bobby Ross.''
On the 2011 Super Bowl win in Green Bay: "It was really the culmination of all you work for. And it was incredible coming back to Atlanta and winning that playoff game against the Falcons.''
On the best receiver he ever coached: "That's a tough one but narrowing it down to the very best I would have to say Marvin Harrison. But as far as the most talented at the height of his career it would be Andre Rison. He was such a great athlete and was built like a running back. I had him for four years and he went to the Pro Bowl all four years. I would say my most underrated receivers were Toomer and Hilliard in New York and I can't leave out Joe Horn. And when I was at Green Bay we had the best group of receivers in the league and Jordy turned out the best of all of them. There is one guy that I want to say means a lot to me. It is Dez Bryant. As far as sheer physical ability and tools to play wide receiver, I have never been around a guy like him. By the time it is all over he may erase a lot of records.''
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