Ed Henry, Robinson's second head coach, arrived in 1975, following a 1–9 season in 1974. After a rebuilding year in 1975 with two wins, the 1976 team improved to 5–2–3 (), and an 8–2 regular season in 1977, with two playoff victories and district and regional titles to finish at 10–3 (). Henry was the first to take the team to the postseason, in 1977 (state semifinals) and 1979. He was a head coach in Fairfax County for over 25 years (159–82–14, ) and was inducted into the VHSL Hall of Fame in 1997. Before coming to Robinson, he led a strong program at Marshall (44–17–1, ) for six seasons (portrayed by Tom Nowicki in the 2000 film "Remember the Titans"). Before Marshall, Henry was the head coach at Annandale for 9 years (60–22–6, ), and won a state championship in 1965. He departed Robinson after 8 seasons (43–35–5, ) following the 1982 season to become an assistant coach at the University of Virginia.