It’s inherent in sports that one team’s loss is another’s gain.
However, on Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers’ loss of a solid running backs coach was outweighed by the significance of Mississippi State’s offer of their head coaching position to Sylvester Croom.
“Sylvester Croom met all of the criteria we laid forth for the selection of a new head football coach at Mississippi State,” Director of Athletics Larry Templeton said. “We went after the best football coach, and we’re confident we found that individual in Sylvester Croom. We’re excited to welcome him to the Mississippi State family.”
Croom, a 28-year veteran of coaching on the professional and collegiate levels, will become the first black head coach in Southeastern Conference history when he takes the reins of the Bulldogs next season.
“I want everybody to understand I am the first African-American coach in the SEC, but there [is] but one color that matters here, and that color is maroon,” Croom said. “I just want to say to the Mississippi State football family, I’m glad to be home. Home is where the heart is, and, in my heart, I’m a Bulldog.”
Croom will arrive at Mississippi State after coaching the past three years in Green Bay, where he has refined a running attack that this season has produced the NFC’s second leading rusher in Ahman Green. Croom’s 17-year NFL coaching career also included stints with Detroit, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Indianapolis.
“I’d like to thank the fans of Mississippi State, former players, students and numerous people that love Mississippi State football across the country, who have encouraged me through various means to accept the job to come to Mississippi State,” Croom said. “Believe it or not, we have several players at the Packers from Mississippi … some went to the other school.”
During his three seasons in Green Bay, the Packers have been the second most successful NFL franchise, winning nearly 70 percent of their games over that stretch.
In 2002, Green Bay clinched the inaugural NFC North championship with a second-straight 12-4 record. As part of that effort, running back Ahman Green earned his second consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl on the heels of his third-straight 1,000-yard season.
In his first season in Green Bay, Croom helped the Pack qualify for the post-season for the first time in three years with a 12-4 record. Green Bay defeated San Francisco in the NFC Wild Card game, the Packers’ first post-season win in three seasons. Green posted a second-consecutive 1,000-yard season and led the team in receptions for a second-straight year. Green was second in the NFC in both rushing yards and total yards from scrimmage. Under Croom’s tutelage, Green was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and earned his first trip to Hawaii’s Pro Bowl.
Croom started his coaching career by notching 11 years of experience on the college level at Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide to back-to-back national championships in 1978 and ’79. During his coaching tenure at Alabama, the Crimson Tide went to 10 postseason bowl games in 11 years. He accompanied Alabama teams to the Sugar Bowl (1977-’79), Cotton Bowl (1980-’81), Sun Bowl (1983, ’86), Liberty Bowl (1976, ’82) and Aloha Bowl (1985) while in Tuscaloosa. Croom helped Alabama teams to a composite 102-28-2 record.
A 1975 graduate of the University of Alabama, Croom was a three-year letterman for coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, earning all-SEC and All-American recognition following his senior season. He was the starting center on Alabama’s 1973 national title team.
“We wanted someone whose record clearly demonstrated that he recognizes the broader responsibilities that goes along with the privilege of being a head coach at an institution like this,” Mississippi State President Dr. J. Charles Lee said. “We are convinced that Coach Croom will be an involved member of the university community and a role model for the young people of Mississippi and the nation.”
Croom was a free agent signee of the New Orleans Saints in 1975. Following his playing days at Alabama, he played one season in the NFL before going back to Tuscaloosa to launch his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1976. He worked with the centers during that one-season apprenticeship.