Dennis "Dirt" Winston hoping Saturday's Bayou Classic isn't the end of his coaching tenure at Grambling State

NEW ORLEANS  -- Dennis "Dirt" Winston knows what it's like to fight for a goal.

In 1973, he and 12 other black football players at Arkansas comprised the largest signing class of African Americans in Razorbacks history at the time. Now in 2013, the former New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker has guided and witnessed a Grambling State football team fighting for change of its own.

Winston was appointed interim coach of the Tigers on Oct. 17, moved from his post as defensive coordinator in this season of chaos at Grambling. The turmoil was highlighted by the team's boycott of two practices and its Oct. 19 Jackson State game, stemming from the firing of coach Doug Williams, the appointing of George Ragsdale as a first interim coach, and their desire for better facilities and travel.

Winston, who started his coaching career in 1992 as Grambling's defensive coordinator under ...

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