Lamb Emerges as Candidate for Eddie Robinson Award

MACON, Ga. (MERCER RELEASE) – In the process of leading a first-year program to an 8-1 record and a chance to capture a Pioneer Football League Championship, Mercer University football head coach Bobby Lamb has emerged has a candidate for the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation’s top FCS coach.

When Lamb was introduced as the head coach of the Mercer football program on Jan. 11, 2011, there was no stadium, no players, no assistant coaches and no fan base.

Just over a year later the first signing class was announced and Mercer University Stadium started taking shape as the football home Mercer fans pack out each and every Saturday.

On Jan. 31, 2013, less than three years after the decision was made to bring football back to Mercer, Lamb stood in the locker room in front of over 100 freshmen and less than 10 upperclassmen for a speech that will go down in the Mercer University history books.

“Win, lose or draw guys, this will be the greatest moment of my coaching career because I did it with you and we started from day one. We built this thing. You had the blood sweat and tears out there every single day. You owe it to yourself men, you owe it to yourself to go out there, stand tall, be proud and live in the moment.”

With those words, the Bears stormed Anderson Field to 12,172 screaming fans and football was alive at Mercer for the first time in 72 years.

Many thought a 40-37 comeback win over Reinhardt as time expired would be one of only a few wins for Mercer in 2013, but week after week Lamb has led the Bears on the field to shock one team after another.

Mercer is one of 12 startup football programs in 2013. Seven of those teams have three wins or less and the Bears are one of only two programs with a winning record.

Lamb and the Bears were voted 11th out of 12 teams in the Pioneer Football League Preseason Poll and picked only ahead of fellow startup program Stetson prior to the 2013 season.

When asked about the remarkable run, Lamb can only shake his head and say, “These freshmen don’t know any better; they believe they can go beat anyone right now.”

That belief is rooted in a head coach that works day in and day out with his staff to put a first-year football program on the map.

Ranked in the top-10 of five different FCS statistical categories after nine games, the Bears are outsmarting their opponents and working tirelessly to make history behind a head coach that literally built a program from scratch.

A chance to win a championship is uncommon for a first-year program, but with three games left the Bears are in the hunt thanks to their head coach, who has suddenly emerged as a candidate for the Eddie Robinson Award as the top FCS coach in the country.