Eugene Keefe Robinson (born May 28, 1963) is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1985. In addition to his 11 seasons with the Seahawks, he was a member of the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons for two seasons each and the Carolina Panthers for one season.
During his Seattle tenure, Robinson was named to two Pro Bowls and led the league in interceptions in 1993. Robinson's two seasons with the Packers saw him reach the Super Bowl in both years and win Super Bowl XXXI. With the Falcons, he earned a third Pro Bowl selection and made a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
College career During high school, Robinson was not a sought after recruit and did not receive any major scholarship offers. He was interested in attending Colgate although they did not offer athletic scholarships and were known for their academics. When he inquired about joining their football program as a walk-on, Colgate wouldn't guarantee he'd receive a roster spot, but did guarantee he'd at least receive a tryout. He began attending Colgate University in 1981 and successfully joined the football team as a walk-on. While attending, Robinson also was part of their wrestling team and worked a part-time job at McDonald's to pay his tuition. He became a starter during his sophomore year in 1982. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he was limited to 34 combined tackles and one interception. As a senior, he remained a starting defensive back and recorded 52 combined tackles and two interceptions throughout the 1984 season.
Professional career During the NFL Scouting Combine, Robinson ran a 4.66s in the 40-yard dash. The New Jersey Generals selected Robinson during the 1985 USFL territorial draft. He attended training camp with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL, but opted to attend the tryout with the Seahawks. Seattle Seahawks Robinson went undrafted in the 1985 NFL draft, but was invited by the Seattle Seahawks to tryout during spring minicamp. At the conclusion of spring minicamp, the Seahawks invited him to participate at training camp. His versatility as a defensive back capable of playing both cornerback and safety significantly allowed him to quickly garner experience as it also coincided with cornerback Dave Brown's absence at training camp due to a contract holdout. 1985 season On June 4, 1985, the Seattle Seahawks signed Robinson as an undrafted free agent. On September 4, 1985, Robinson made the Seahawks' opening day roster as one of only three rookies to make it through their final roster cuts. Head coach Chuck Knox named Robinson a backup safety to begin the season and primarily used him on special teams. He was listed as a backup safety on the depth chart behind starting tandem Kenny Easley and John Harris and primary backup Paul Moyer.
On September 8, 1985, Robinson made his professional regular season debut in the Seahawks' season-opener at the Cincinnati Bengals as they won 28—24. On October 6, 1985, Robinson made one solo tackle, a pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass attempt by Mark Herrman during a 21—26 win against the San Diego Chargers. In Week 16, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles (six solo) and had a pass deflection during a 24—27 loss to the Denver Broncos. On December 1, 1985, Robinson recorded three combined tackles (one solo), set a season-high with two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass attempt by Todd Blackledge to wide receiver Stephone Paige as the Seahawks routed the Kansas City Chiefs 6—24. He finished his rookie season with 28 combined tackles (18 solo), four pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and zero starts.
1986 season Throughout training camp, Robinson competed against Paul Moyer for the starting role at free safety after it was left vacant following the departure of John Harris. Head coach Chuck Knox named Robinson the starting free safety to begin the regular season, pairing him with Kenny Easley. On September 7, 1986, Robinson earned his first career start in the Seattle Seahawks' home-opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and recorded four combined tackles (three solo) during a 0—30 shutout victory. On September 14, 1986, Robinson made five combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and helped secure a 17—23 win against the Kansas City Chiefs by intercepting a pass by Todd Blackledge late in the fourth quarter. He started in all 16 games for the first time in his career and finished the season with 99 combined tackles (81 solo), ten pass deflections, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles.
1987 season He returned as the starting free safety alongside strong safety Kenny Easley. He was inactive for four games (Weeks 3—6) due to an ankle injury. In Week 8, he set a season-high with 11 combined tackles (seven solo) and had one pass deflection during a 28—17 win against the Minnesota Vikings. On November 15, 1987, Robinson recorded four combined tackles (three solo), made one pass deflection, and led the Seahawks from a 13—7 deficit after recovering a blocked punt by Don Bracken and returning it for an 15—yard touchdown during a 13—24 victory against the Green Bay Packers. In Week 15, Robinson recorded ten combined tackles (six solo), made two pass deflections, and set a career-high with two interceptions on passes by Mike Tomczak during a 34—21 victory at the Chicago Bears. He finished the season with 69 combined tackles (50 solo), three pass deflections, three interceptions, a fumble recovery, and scored one touchdown in 12 games and 12 starts.
The Seattle Seahawks finished the 1987 NFL season second in the AFC West with a 9—6 record to earn a Wild-Card position. On January 3, 1988, Robinson started in his first career playoff game and recorded 12 combined tackles (eight solo) as the Seahawks lost the AFC Wild-Card Game in overtime 23—20 at the Houston Oilers.
1988 season Head coach Chuck Knox retained Robinson as the starting free safety and paired him with strong safety Paul Moyer following the trade and sudden retirement of Kenny Easley. In Week 2, he made four solo tackles, one pass break-up, and had his lone interception of the season on a pass attempt by Steve DeBerg as the Seahawks routed the Kansas City Chiefs 10—31. On September 18, 1988, Robinson made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and had the first sack of his career on Babe Laufenberg for a 13—yard loss during a 6—17 loss at the San Diego Chargers. In Week 4, he set a season-high with 11 combined tackles (four solo) and had one pass break-up as the Seahawks were routed by the San Francisco 49ers 7—38. He started in all 16 games throughout the 1988 NFL season and set a career-high with 115 combined tackles (86 solo) while also making five pass deflections, one fumble recovery, one sack, and an interception.
1989 season On July 21, 1989, the Seattle Seahawks re-signed Robinson to a three—year, $724,500 contract. Head coach Chuck Knox traded for Los Angeles Rams' safety Johnnie Johnson in order for him to compete against Robinson for the starting role at free safety. Head coach Chuck Knox named Robinson a backup free safety and primarily used him on special teams to begin the season. In his place, Knox named Johnnie Johnson and Paul Moyer as the starting safeties with Nesby Glasgow as the primary backup.
On October 1, 1989, Robinson made five combined tackles (three solo), two pass deflections, and secured the Seahawks' 14—7 victory at the Los Angeles Raiders by intercepting Jay Schroeder's pass to wide receiver Mervyn Fernandez with 30 seconds left in the game. In Week 7, he recorded six combined tackles (three solo) and set a season-high with three pass deflections during a 21—24 loss to the Denver Broncos. On December 23, 1989, Robinson set a season-high with 12 combined tackles (eight solo), made two pass deflections, and intercepted Mark Rypien's pass attempt to wide receiver Art Monk as the Seahawks were shutout 29—0 by the Washington Redskins. He finished the 1989 NFL season with 102 combined tackles (76 solo), five pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and made five interceptions in 16 games and 14 starts. For the second consecutive season, Robinson led the team in tackles with 102 combined tackles.
1990 season He entered training camp slated as the de facto starting free safety. Head coach Chuck Knox named Robinson and rookie second round pick (34th overall) Robert Blackmon as the starting safeties to begin the regular season. Following the first three games, defensive coordinator Tom Catlin elected to promote Nesby Glasgow to starting strong safety alongside Robinson for the rest of the season. In Week 5, he made three solo tackles, one pass deflection, a fumble recovery, and intercepted a pass attempt by Marc Wilson to wide receiver Cedric Jones during a 33—20 win at the New England Patriots. In Week 9, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (five solo) during a 14—31 loss to the San Diego Chargers. On November 25, 1990, Robinson made six combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, and made a crucial interception on Billy Joe Tolliver during the fourth quarter that immediately led to the game-tying touchdown in the Seahawks' 13—10 overtime victory at the San Diego Chargers. On December 30, 1990, Robinson recorded four combined tackles (three solo), made one pass deflection, and scored a touchdown after returning a fumble recovery for 16—yards after Vann McElroy had a strip/sack on Rodney Peete as the Seahawks defeated the Detroit Lions 10—30. He started in all 16 games throughout the 1990 NFL season and finished with 82 combined tackles (63 solo), five pass deflections, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions, a forced fumble, and scored one touchdown. 1991 season Head coach Chuck Knox named Robinson and Robert Blackmon the starting safeties to begin the regular season after Nesby Glasgow satout the majority of training camp as a contract holdout. On October 20, 1991, Robinson made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Neil O'Donnell during a 27—7 win at the Pittsburgh Steelers. This marked his fourth consecutive game with an interception. In Week 9, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles (four solo) and had one pass deflection during a 20—9 victory against the San Diego Chargers. He started in all 16 games for the second consecutive season and made 93 combined tackles (69 solo), seven pass deflections, five interceptions, one sack, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. On December 28, 1991, the Seattle Seahawks' head coach Chuck Knox officially resigned after they finished the 1991 NFL season with a 9—7 record.
1992 season On January 7, 1992, the Seattle Seahawks announced that team president and general manager Tom Flores would be their new head coach.
On November 30, 1992, Robinson recorded four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and help secure a 13—16 win against the Denver Broncos by intercepting a pass attempt by Tommy Maddox late in the fourth quarter. On December 6, 1992, Robinson recorded five combined tackles (four solo), set a season-high with three pass deflections, and set a career-high with three interceptions after picking off Neil O'Donnell twice and followed it by intercepting backup Bubby Brister during a 14—20 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers. He started in all 16 games for the third consecutive season and finished with 94 combined tackles (64 solo), 12 pass deflections, seven interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and was credited with 1.5 sacks. His performance earned him a selection to the 1993 Pro Bowl, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
1993 season