Chris Bahn: Coaching Demands Catch Up With Razorbacks' Robinson

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson doesn't allow his players to make excuses. He demands toughness.

So Robinson figured he'd fight through whatever it was that left him tired and feeling not quite right last week. Robinson was sick, but with a game to play, bowl eligibility on the line and other Razorback assistants fighting through an assortment of ailments, there wasn't time to waste going to the doctor.

Robinson had an example to set, after all.

"I thought it was something minor that I thought I could control by myself," Robinson said. "Then it escalated, quite - I guess - rapidly at the end."

That decision left the 53-year-old Robinson in the hospital and off the sidelines for the game. Robinson, who was treated at Washington Regional Hospital for an "infection," is back at work this week, but provided a sobering reminder of just how taxing coaching can be.

College football is demanding. It is not unusual for coaches to neglect themselves for the sake of winning. Diets go out the window. Finding time for exercise is nearly impossible.

Endless cups of coffee partner well with film study. And unless those cups of coffee are matched with proper amounts of water, dehydration is not uncommon.

Eventually, lack of exercise, long hours and a poor diet will catch up with a person. It can even catch up with a guy perceived to be as rough and rugged as Robinson.

Somewhere there is a balance. It's not always easy to find.

Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino has seen it before. He lost a defensive coordinator while at Louisville under similar circumstances.