Croom's breakthrough season meaningful for many
"Yeah, there was pressure. There still is pressure, and it transcends the game of football," Croom said. "If I didn't make it here, what kind of impact would it have on some other [minority] who was trying to better himself and his family? I thought about those things.
"But what I finally decided was that I wasn't going to get caught up in proving that a minority could do this job. I was going to prove that I could do this job, and everything else would take care of itself."
Initially, Croom told Templeton no thanks when the Mississippi State athletic director began courting him for the job. Croom had been an NFL assistant for 15 years and knew the task of rebuilding Mississippi State was a monumental undertaking.
"We didn't just need somebody to turn the program around, but we needed somebody like Coach Croom to come in and change the way people think about Mississippi State," said senior defensive end Titus Brown, an All-**** performer.
"Mississippi State football was known for two things: **** and thugs. That's one of the first things he told us, that you represent your family and you represent this university. If you embarrass either, you're not going to be here. There weren't any exceptions, and there still aren't.
"Those people who bought in thrived, and those who didn't are no longer with us."
Templeton thinks Croom is a year ahead of where he thought he would be at this point. Croom, in earning **** Coach of the Year honors, won three of his last four games to get the Bulldogs into a bowl. It's also the first time since 1998 that they beat Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss all in the same season.
"People just don't know how hard a climb it was and what Sylvester had to overcome," Templeton said. "He's never wavered."
As he looks back on it, Croom isn't sure he would have taken the job had it not been for the advice of one of his closest friends in coaching, the late Milt Jackson, a veteran wide receivers coach in the NFL who died of a heart attack two years ago.
"I wasn't going to do it, and Milt just told me that I had to," Croom recounted. "He said, 'Sylvester, for whatever reason, you've been chosen. If you don't take this job, it might be another 30 years before a black man gets a head coaching job in the ****.'"
Determined to do it his way, Croom was scoffed at by some long-time Mississippi State fans and boosters who urged him to cheat.
"I heard people say you can't win in this state, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, unless you're buying players," Croom said. "That may be the way some people have done it, but I don't believe that. I actually had an alumnus come up to me and say, 'I like you. I like what you stand for. But if you're not paying players, you're never going to win and you're not going to be here very long.'
"I'll never be a part of that, and nobody on my staff will. I can promise you that. If I ever hear of any player involved in any situation where he was bought, I'll go to him myself, and if it's true, I'll go to the NCAA and turn ourselves in.
Complete story (Photo):
ESPN - Croom's breakthrough season meaningful for many - College Football
I am proud that he won the Liberty Bowl. More importantly, I am excited that Croom is the first African American head football coach in the Southeastern Conference. My father grew up about 30 minutes from Mississippi State. For the most part, after high school he had to attend an HBCU because Mississippi State was not an option. I am proud of the progress that Mississippi State has made. Coach Croom success will help other African American coaches in college football.
Croom is a Christian man, and it shows doing the right thing pays off. He did it the right way and God has honored his integrity!
I agree with your statements. I think his parents passed it down to him. His father, Sylvester Croom, Sr. was the team chaplain at the University of Alabama.
His father, Sylvester Croom, Sr. was the team chaplain at the University of Alabama.
