Explaining that he is ‘constantly evaluating,’ Syracuse Director of Athletics Daryl Gross said he would not ‘sit idle’ in assessing the Syracuse football team’s performance this season. But Gross offered no comment on whether he would make a move during the season to fire head coach Greg Robinson, who has a 7-31 record the past four years.

The Daily Orange spoke to Gross as he exited the Carrier Dome following the Orange’s 55-13 loss to Penn State, which dropped the Orange to 0-3.

‘I’m constantly evaluating,’ Gross said. ‘I mean, that’s my job to evaluate constantly, constantly, constantly. I don’t tell my people my inner workings. It’s just not what we talk about.

‘But, obviously, we don’t sit idle. And I always like to feel like we’re always evaluating, and we’re fair people. And at the same time, we do whatever we need to do, because we want to have a great program.’

In regards to making a decision on Robinson during the season, Gross said, ‘I have no comment on anything like that whatsoever.’

Last April, The Daily Orange reported the football team lost money in 2006 for the first time since 1995, when athletic departments were required to report their finances to the government. Average attendance fell to a 21-year low in 2007.

Saturday’s game was a disappointing end to what had been an eventful weekend for Gross. ‘The Express,’ the feature film about former Syracuse star Ernie Davis, premiered Friday night at the Landmark Theatre downtown. Fellow Syracuse legends such as Jim Brown and Floyd Little returned to campus to pay tribute to Davis, joining stars from the film such as Dennis Quaid and Rob Brown.

‘One of the greatest weekends – as far as the movie and the premiere – ever in the city of Syracuse,’ Gross said.

Saturday started well for Gross too. Before the game he helped unveil a statute of Davis that will sit near the Quad.

The afternoon didn’t go so smoothly.

Fans in the Carrier Dome booed Gross when he was introduced at halftime. Afterward, he had to watch the Nittany Lions finish pounding on his Orange.

‘Who wants to lose 55 to 13 any time?’ Gross said. ‘So that was disappointing. But it’s disappointing to the players. It’s disappointing to the coaches, obviously.’

ramccull@syr.edu

Published on September 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm