No Surprise in Announcement : Reaction: Players and coaches expected Robinson to leave. To them, only the timing was in question.

When John Robinson announced his resignation as Ram coach Wednesday it didn’t surprise many of his players or assistant coaches. As the losses mounted, the only question that remained was when he would go and whether it would be of his own accord.

Marv Goux, Robinson’s defensive line coach for the past 16 seasons at USC and with the Rams, said he knew it was only a matter of time before Robinson quit. The two had spoken of Robinson’s departure “just the other day,” Goux said.

“We’ll probably end this thing in a few more days,” Goux said Robinson told him.

Although it troubled Robinson to struggle through the frustration of last season’s 5-11 record and this year’s 3-12 mark, he was relieved to be leaving the Rams, according to Goux.

“John feels a hell of a lot better, Goux said. “This has been a long two years. In time, he’ll heal up. Maybe he’ll coach in this game again.

“You could see the toll on him, but he’s handled it great. There’s a lot of life still left in him. He’s not dead. He needs to take a little time off--a week, two weeks, a year--to relax a little, to enjoy Christmas and the New Year.”

Jeff Fisher, who played defensive back for Robinson at USC and left the Philadelphia Eagles to become the Rams’ defensive coordinator this season, said he noticed little change in Robinson as rumors of his departure circulated.

“He was together, composed, relaxed,” Fisher said. “It’s an unfortunate predicament for the L.A. Rams. This is the nature of the business. There were changes in Philadelphia because we won. There are changes here because we lost.”

Reportedly Fisher had been brought to Anaheim to be groomed as the Rams’ head coach of the future. He would learn under Robinson, then take over at some point. But Fisher would not comment on any plan.

“Our future has not been discussed,” Fisher said.

Only a few players would offer comment, many saying they knew nothing of Robinson’s announcement. Others said Robinson told the team at a meeting Wednesday morning, but asked that they say nothing to reporters. But by midday word had leaked out.

“I’ve been around the man since 1976,” said long snapper Mike McDonald, another former Trojan. “A coach is only as good as his players are. It’s unfortunate that he had to go out on such a bad note.”

McDonald placed much of the blame on the Rams’ organization.

“I believe this organization needs a complete overhaul,” he said. “It’s the players, it’s everybody. He’s a damn good coach. After 16 seasons, to have two bad seasons and be labeled a loser . . . I’m sure that hurt him and affected him. He’s been this team’s most successful coach (a club-record 79 career victories). Now all of a sudden, they label him a loser?

“He can turn some team around if he’s given the right opportunity.”

McDonald said it seemed Robinson’s hands often were tied by management, especially when it came to draft-day decision making.

“Who’s calling the shots?” he said. “No one knows. How many draft picks have been blown over the years? I doubt it’s him (making the selections) because he knows football talent.”

Tight end Damone Johnson, in his seventh year with the team, said he was grateful to have played for Robinson.

“He’s done a lot for all of us,” Johnson said. “He’s a great coach. I’m going to miss him. He helped me tremendously. I can’t say anything but good things about him.

“There’s some disappointment there, but there’s no surprise. I hope it’s a positive thing. I think it should be a positive stride to make us better. We can’t get any worse.”