another croom artcile where he attempts to lay claim for our current success..

[RC3]

sorry if germans....guy is a joke. and this is insulting to our current staff. He may have kicked some kids off the team and instilled some discipline in the program, but for him to claim that he has something to do with why we are currently winning, kind of chaps me off and is an insult to what mullen and co have done since their arrival. he never could own that he was a bad coach. i am glad that he cheers for us, and am thankful for the ellis Johnson season in 07, but the rest of his career at msu was embarrassing. i mean his last game we lost 45-0, we were heading in the wrong direction, regardless of his discipline. great life coach. terrible football coach
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/10/slyvester_croom_looks_back_wit.html



Sylvester Croom was exhausted. The running backs coach for the Tennessee Titans had spent the majority of the October day on at the team's football facility, studying film and preparing his players to take on the Cleveland Browns the following afternoon. Now, after driving through the dark streets of Nashville to his apartment, he collapsed onto his living room couch and turned on the television. He wanted to check on his old team.

Flipping the channels, he finally found what he was looking for: highlights of Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M, played earlier that day. What he saw caused him to go bug-eyed and gave him a full-body shiver of excitement: The Bulldogs, the team he coached from 2004 to '08, beat the Aggies 48-31 in a game that--at the time--was the most significant in school history. Watching his old school lay the wood to A&M left the 60-year-old overwhelmed with one feeling: pride.

"I still feel connected to Mississippi State because I feel like the things we did there helped build what is happening now," Croom says. "When I got to Starkville the program needed some major changes. We emphasized two things with our players: character and academics. That was how we were going to build. I told the players we recruited that it may take seven or eight years to get Mississippi State to a level where we could contend for an SEC championship and a national championship. We didn't it done when I was there. But it's extremely gratifying to see it is happening now. The fans in Mississippi deserve it."

Back when he was hired by Mississippi State, Croom, a native of Tuscaloosa who played for Bear Bryant at Alabama, became the first African-American head football coach in the SEC. When Mike Slive announced last week that he would step down as conference commissioner in 2015, he mentioned Croom's hiring as one of the proudest moments of his tenure.

In the midst of the current euphoria in Starkville, which is just giddy over its team national No. 1 ranking, it's easy to forget or dismiss where the journey to the top began. Croom inherited a program that was in the grip of NCAA sanctions, yet in his third season he led the Bulldogs to an 8-5 record and a victory in Liberty Bowl. He was named the SEC coach of the year--the first Mississippi State coach to win the award since Charlie Shira in 1970.

But things fell apart quickly: Just a year later, after the Bulldogs stumbled to a 4-8 record, Croom was asked to resign. In five years he was 21-38.

Yet even as he left, he sensed a sea change was coming. It was as if he whispered into the ear of his successor, Dan Mullen, the things he felt Mississippi State needed to do in order to flourish. "Upgrade the facilities, because they needed to build a place that was attractive enough to get out of state of kids," Croom says. "Keep Mississippi kids from leaving. I'm telling you, even when we weren't that good, Mississippi kids were tough physically--really, really tough. If you play Mississippi kids, you better bring your lunch pail, because they are going to hit you in mouth hard.

"Now you look at what Dan Mullin has done. They have as nice of facilities as anyone in the conference. They're getting those out of state kids and they're keeping kids in state from leaving. They are physically tough on defense and they have a heck of quarterback in Dak Prescott. That's how you win in the SEC."

Davis Wade Stadium, originally built in 1914 and the oldest stadium in the SEC, underwent a $75 million expansion that was completed in August and raised the seating capacity to 61,337. "The stadium is just perfect," Croom says. "It's big but not too big. It's a great fit for Starkville, because it feels homey, like you're among friends."

Croom receives text messages from former players nearly every day, telling him how connected they feel to this current Bulldog team. Though none of the players he personally recruited are on the roster--his last recruiting class graduated last year--Croom exudes a fatherly pride every time he watches the Bulldogs play. "The players I had made sacrifices that are now paying off," Croom says. "I'd like to think that the work ethic that we ingrained at Mississippi State is at the core of what helped build the program."

Now in the autumn of his professional career, Croom realizes that he'll most likely never again be a head coach. It's been a decade since he made history in the SEC, and the thank-yous still come his way, especially from young African American coaches. "At the time I was hired I understood the significance of being the first African American head coach in the SEC, but I didn't appreciate it because I was so focused on the job," Croom says. "But I now realize it meant a lot to a lot of people. You can look at me and say, 'If he can achieve his goal, so can I.' I'm so humbled by that. I'm grateful for the chance I got. I'll always be thankful to Mississippi State. A part of me will always be a Bulldog."

[bobcat91]

He makes me sick to my stomach. He lied to players, played favorites, and put friendships ahead of wining. Just go away and quit trying to act like you helped the program.

[CadaverDawg]

I actually took the article as a good thing. I'm glad to know that Croom still pulls for us to succeed. Maybe I'm reading it the wrong way.

[quickstrike2]

I knew that he would feel like this, almost just ticks me off, but I am so glad that he is gone that it doesn't even really bother me. All I can say for Croom is that he was apparently a "good man" and I really only think people kept saying that because nothing else good could really be said.

[RC3]

I actually took the article as a good thing. I'm glad to know that Croom still pulls for us to succeed. Maybe I'm reading it the wrong way.

That's fine, but his "I told ya so" attitude is sickening. Does anyone think if he was still out coach we would be number 1 in the country right now? Even in the top 25? Hell nah

[Political Hack]

I like him more now than I did five minutes ago.

[CadaverDawg]

That's fine, but his "I told ya so" attitude is sickening. Does anyone think if he was still out coach we would be number 1 in the country right now? Even in the top 25? Hell nah

No, but I think when you become a head coach, you probably sink your entire everything into that program. So to expect someone to just cut ties and say "F em" after they're fired is not realistic. If he wants to feel like he's a part of this, I'm cool with it. I'd much rather him be a part of it from his couch in Nashville, than our sidelines.

But I agree with you that he had little if anything to do with our program getting to where it is now. He can claim helping us about as much as Torbush can at this point.

[RC3]

Well I'm a part of it too then. I paid for season tickets during his laughable tenure

[MSUDawg4Life]

I didn't read it that way.

I believe it's true that he changed the culture of the team from the end of the Sherrill years. Dan Mullen did not have to come in and change the attitude of the program like Charlie Strong is having to do at Texas. Coach Croom had already done that. Hard work, going to class and all of that stuff was already in place when Mullen got here. Mullen just had to teach the guys how to win and he's done that.

Let's not act like Croom played no role whatsoever in what we're seeing today. Sure, he didn't win. No, he can't take credit for Mullen teaching the guys how to win. But, the inmates did not run the asylum when Mullen got here and that credit goes to Croom. I believe even Dan will say that his job was easier in the beginning because of that.

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

Funny how we started recruiting better when our coach stopped falling asleep on in home visits.

[1bigdawg]

He lost me when he said he "knew ahead of time" that we were going to lose to Maine. He is just too full of himself to ever admit that he is not the center of the world and that he knows everything.

[BeastMan]

He makes me sick to my stomach. He lied to players, played favorites, and put friendships ahead of wining. Just go away and quit trying to act like you helped the program.

I'm glad I'm not alone

[RC3]

Good for him. Hell I could go in to a program myself and kick thugs off of the team. That's nothing noteworthy IMO. Might have made ******* job easier but croom didn't do anything groundbreaking in that regard. Good life coach. Terrible football coach. We lost 45-0 his last game. The trajectory of out program was going down, not up.

[quickstrike2]

I respect the ones that can give him some credit, but I simply can not. Falling asleep on recruiting visits, expecting to lose to Maine, complete stubbornness on offense and assistant coaches, and driving around on a golf cart are things I can not get over. Maybe he did clean up some off the field stuff, and maybe he did teach hard work, but in my opinion some of the things he did exemplified laziness.

It was easier for Mullen to take over than it was for Croom, but it's not saying that much. Croom came in and did kick off some trouble makers that was a bad seed when Sherrill was here. Any coach would of done the same. Sherrill did many good things while he was here, Croom did little of nothing on the actual field.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

The look on his face at the 08 Egg Bowl should tell you where we would be if he was still here, lost.

[MSUDawg4Life]

Meh.

The guy had his faults like we all do. I just don't prescribe to the notion that EVERYTHING associated with his tenure here was bad. That's simply not true.

There's more to building a winning attitude and culture than just simply kicking the thugs off the team. Croom made some positive contributions to our program that helped his successor whether we admit it or not.

[bluelightstar]

Meh.

The guy had his faults like we all do. I just don't prescribe to the notion that EVERYTHING associated with his tenure here was bad. That's simply not true.

There's more to building a winning attitude and culture than just simply kicking the thugs off the team. Croom made some positive contributions to our program that helped his successor whether we admit it or not.

+1

[gtowndawg]

without Mike Shula. They owe that guy.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Meh.

The guy had his faults like we all do. I just don't prescribe to the notion that EVERYTHING associated with his tenure here was bad. That's simply not true.

There's more to building a winning attitude and culture than just simply kicking the thugs off the team. Croom made some positive contributions to our program that helped his successor whether we admit it or not.

from one dawg4life to another, I'm with you. It's pathetic the way we eat our dead. It's not impressive or admirable to denigrate the accomplishments of others (such as our only winning season of that decade).

[BLITZII]

from one dawg4life to another, I'm with you. It's pathetic the way we eat our dead. It's not impressive or admirable to denigrate the accomplishments of others (such as our only winning season of that decade).

+1

[steeldawg]

No, but I think when you become a head coach, you probably sink your entire everything into that program. So to expect someone to just cut ties and say "F em" after they're fired is not realistic. If he wants to feel like he's a part of this, I'm cool with it. I'd much rather him be a part of it from his couch in Nashville, than our sidelines.

But I agree with you that he had little if anything to do with our program getting to where it is now. He can claim helping us about as much as Torbush can at this point.

I'm 100% with you. I don't mind that he feels like he had a part of it. Id much much rather him have the attitude he has than an attitude of pissing on us still like Ron polk. He can hop on the bandwagon, I'm all for it.

[M.Fillmore]

Crxxm told a St. Louis reporter that Byrne wanted him to compromise his "ethical standards" so he resigned.


Yep, Mullen and Crxxm are two peas in a pod.***

[steeldawg]

Delete. Double post.

[BeastMan]

Crxxm told a St. Louis reporter that Byrne wanted him to compromise his "ethical standards" so he resigned.


Goodness I cannot stand that guy. Cronyism at it's finest.

[RC3]

By compromising his ethical standards, does he mean firing a completely inept OC?

[gravedigger]

If you can't see that he was willing to take out the trash our dumpster fire program had become then you are either too young or too ignorant to understand.

Croom for all his faults showed us that change had to happen. He was willing to be the catalyst.

I think it's disgraceful our fans cannot simply thank him for taking over what was one of the chaotic programs ever.

[smootness]

If you can't see that he was willing to take out the trash our dumpster fire program had become then you are either too young or too ignorant to understand.

Croom for all his faults showed us that change had to happen. He was willing to be the catalyst.

I think it's disgraceful our fans cannot simply thank him for taking over what was one of the chaotic programs ever.

Seriously. What the heck, guys? Where does the anger come from?

He is a good man who did some good things here and ultimately did not win; he still supports and roots for the program. We are now #1 in the country. There is NO reason to still be angry with Croom. Just be happy with where we are and stop thinking about him if he bothers you for some reason.

[Coach34]

Crooms fell asleep on a recruit's couch and was snoring. Think about that for a second. That was the guy we paid over a million dollars to as the coach of our program. The guy who fell asleep in a recruit's house

[Coach34]

This is the guy that said he recruited a QB because he ran down the defender after throwing an interception

[Coach34]

The guy that said he would retire before running a Spread offense

[Coach34]

The guy that punted from the opponents 30 yard line

[Coach34]

The guy that said he didn't care if we only made 2 inches- we were going to line up and run right at a Nick Saban coached LSU D

[Coach34]

The guy said he knew we were going to lose to a 6-6 Maine team a year AFTER it happened saying they were more talented than us

[Smitty]

The guy that lost a game while holding the opponent to a FG.

[Coach34]

They guy that in 5 years couldn't put together a better offense than 103rd in the country

[Coach34]

The guy that told Jackie Wayne that he didn't need any help meeting people or anything as he transitioned to coach. Totally blowing him off. And don't forget- they were both Bama guys

[RC3]

I wasn't angry until he gave multiple interviews claiming that he is a big part of the reason we are being successful now. Just shut up Croom, and I wouldn't even think about him

[Coach34]

The guy that said we weren't as good in 2008 because we didn't score as many defensive TD's

[Coach34]

**** that terrible ********** of a coach

[BullDog]

If you can't see that he was willing to take out the trash our dumpster fire program had become then you are either too young or too ignorant to understand.

Croom for all his faults showed us that change had to happen. He was willing to be the catalyst.

I think it's disgraceful our fans cannot simply thank him for taking over what was one of the chaotic programs ever.

MSU is #1 in the nation. Probably getting new traffic around here? Only to see how sorry a good amount of the opinions are. collectively lacking class.

[smootness]

Yeah, we all know all of that. Doesn't change anything I said. Croom means absolutely nothing to us anymore, we are #1 in the country, and he still supports and cheers for us. Takes a pretty miserable person to take that scenario and be incensed.

[bobcat91]

Oh you mean the class he showed when he lied to Bobo and Littlejohn about them having a scholarship.

The class he showed on the after game call in show when he told a fan and all MSU alumni that he didn't care what we thought about his offense that was always in the bottom ten.

The class he showed on national TV at the Bama game when he shouted F**k you into the camera.

The class he showed by kicking Sherrills guys off for any violation while keeping his own guys who failed multiple drug tests.

Okay back to a few guys talking up a PR stunt.

[dawgoneyall]

There was a player (receiver) who was on an NFL roster and scout squad for a while but couldn't get on the field at MSU.

[Dawgcentral]

The truth is difficult. We can debate whether or not it should be expressed, but the comments concerning Croom are true. Good man? Sure. Could a more adequate coach have cleaned up the program? Of course. He took on the job and was paid to clean it up and win. He failed on the second part.

I've always wished him well,..but damn that man was stubborn.

[Coach34]

We had to pay that moron nearly $5MM to stop being our coach. He better root for our ass

[dawgoneyall]

And nothing you have said is un-true.

[maroonmania]

Crxxm told a St. Louis reporter that Byrne wanted him to compromise his "ethical standards" so he resigned.


Yep, Mullen and Crxxm are two peas in a pod.***

Yep, apparently Croom's "ethical standards" including maintaining a "Gulf Coast Offense" led by his buddy Woody that finished BELOW 100 in total offense for 5 STRAIGHT YEARS. I like Croom as a person (certainly not as a coach) but the way he martyrs himself over his dismissal here is pathetic.

[Coach34]

Byrne told Crooms he was going to switch to the Spread offense and hire a new OC to run that offense- or he could resign. Crooms chose to resign.

[RC3]

Thank god he resigned over that

[CadaverDawg]

There was a player (receiver) who was on an NFL roster and scout squad for a while but couldn't get on the field at MSU.

Lance Long

[Churchill]

I keep hearing Croom was a good/great man. Could someone please point out the great things he`s done. Charities, stories of how affected lives in a positive way etc.. Maybe the way he was hired and his shenanigans while masquerading as a head coach just pissed me off so bad I wasn`t watching closely enough.

[dawgoneyall]

Yep.

And Threadgill could not get on the field also. Fastest player on the team. Missed a pass and he was done. Of course he was the only MSU receiver to miss a pass.*******

[RC3]

Let me say this. I was a huge croom supporter and even had hope going into 08 that he was going to get it done. Then we took a miserable giant leap backwards. What he was preaching wasn't working. He was being hard headed and it was hurting mine and yours university and football team. He had to go. I wasn't mad at him, it just didn't work out. I really hated it too, because, I as much as anyone wanted him to succeed. I didn't hate him though and I still don't but I'm not going to give him credit where none is due. And he is now trying to take at least some partial credit for where we are now. That Is complete and utter garbage. Say you're proud to see the dawgs winning. Say you'll always be a bulldog. Don't say you are the reason we are winning. That's bull

[smootness]

Let me say this. I was a huge croom supporter and even had hope going into 08 that he was going to get it done. Then we took a miserable giant leap backwards. What he was preaching wasn't working. He was being hard headed and it was hurting mine and yours university and football team. He had to go. I wasn't mad at him, it just didn't work out. I really hated it too, because, I as much as anyone wanted him to succeed. I didn't hate him though and I still don't but I'm not going to give him credit where none is due. And he is now trying to take at least some partial credit for where we are now. That Is complete and utter garbage. Say you're proud to see the dawgs winning. Say you'll always be a bulldog. Don't say you are the reason we are winning. That's bull

He didn't say he's the reason we're winning. He said he would like to think what they did helped begin the process we see being fulfilled now, as probably anyone in his situation would. Would you like him to say, 'I was terrible, Mullen had to win despite me'? An extremely large majority of people don't think that way.

[maroonmania]

Let me say this. I was a huge croom supporter and even had hope going into 08 that he was going to get it done. Then we took a miserable giant leap backwards. What he was preaching wasn't working. He was being hard headed and it was hurting mine and yours university and football team. He had to go. I wasn't mad at him, it just didn't work out. I really hated it too, because, I as much as anyone wanted him to succeed. I didn't hate him though and I still don't but I'm not going to give him credit where none is due. And he is now trying to take at least some partial credit for where we are now. That Is complete and utter garbage. Say you're proud to see the dawgs winning. Say you'll always be a bulldog. Don't say you are the reason we are winning. That's bull

And let's set the record straight, the only reason we had a good season in '07 was because the defense and special teams scored probably half our points on the year.

[RC3]

He didn't say he's the reason we're winning. He said he would like to think what they did helped begin the process we see being fulfilled now, as probably anyone in his situation would. Would you like him to say, 'I was terrible, Mullen had to win despite me'? An extremely large majority of people don't think that way.

I realize he's not saying that he is solely responsible. I shouldn't have characterized it that way. I'd prefer he not say anything at all that remotely asserts some type of responsibility for our success.

[M.Fillmore]

Hooray that Crxxm cheers for us. But if he is going to take credit for laying the foundation it would only undermine his claim to speak ill of the program. The more success we have the better Crxxm looks if he can get anyone to buy the line he is selling.

If anyone here wants to pay me $8.1M over the next five years, they can fire my butt and I promise that I won't call them unethical.

[Aces High]

Oh you mean the class he showed when he lied to Bobo and Littlejohn about them having a scholarship.

The class he showed on the after game call in show when he told a fan and all MSU alumni that he didn't care what we thought about his offense that was always in the bottom ten.

The class he showed on national TV at the Bama game when he shouted F**k you into the camera.

The class he showed by kicking Sherrills guys off for any violation while keeping his own guys who failed multiple drug tests.

Okay back to a few guys talking up a PR stunt.

I know archie sims. Croom and "character / man of word" should never be uttered in the same sentence.

I like sly but he is a huge hypocrite.

[FlabLoser]

I view Sly like I view Stansbury. There was good and bad. Just let it go and appreciate the good.

NEWS FLASH: We are ****ing #1 in the country. None of you are allowed to feel angry about anything.

Riddle me this... What if I told you that if you could endure the worst years in MSU history that your reward would be being #1 in the country a handful of years later?

Every damn one of you felt MSU ought to be able to bowl more often than not and once in a blue moon make a run in Atlanta. Who among you had #1 in mind. NOBODY!

[smootness]

NEWS FLASH: We are ****ing #1 in the country. None of you are allowed to feel angry about anything.

Pretty much my thoughts.

[tcdog70]

I couldn't Stand Sly then and really can't believe the Number of State Fans that are still drinking the Kool-aid . He is the worst coach to ever Coach at State, hell give me Charlie Shira. I'm right there on board with Coach 34 on the Slytanic. oh Yea, he ruined Omarr.

[War Machine Dawg]

Saw this a day or two ago. Didn't bother linking because it's garbage. Crxxm is so irrelevant he isn't worth wasting our time discussing. He can cheer for us all he wants, but it doesn't change the fact he's arguably the worst HC in MSU history. And there is literally no one on this team that was recruited by him. Just a typical Alabama journalist trying to stir shit and insert race into something where it has no place. Screw Crxxm.

[Todd4State]

I think a lot of things that we are seeing with Dan is what Croom wanted and envisioned, but he couldn't implement them. And thus, he was fired.

The thing I like the best about Dan is he appears to be very detail oriented from a fundamentals standpoint, and overall he has done a good job with recruiting players that work hard and seem to be good people. And I think that's a lot of what killed Croom. It's one thing to talk it, but you have to walk it. And that's not easy- and Dan really should be commended for what he has done in that respect, which I think gets overlooked a lot.

I also think he didn't get Mississippi and that hurt him a lot too. Instead of recruiting Alabama so hard, he probably should have done what Dan is doing now- focus on Mississippi guys and try to beat the bushes for the Benardrick McKinney's and Chris Jones's. I don't think he fully understood the Egg Bowl rivalry either- see 45-0. We never had the focus and intensity that we should have had for that game other than maybe 2005 when Norwood carried us to a win.

[Dawg61]

Y'all failed to mention the worst part about Croom imo. He intentionally put MSU down so that he could extend his contract longer. He repeatedly said how awful the program was and that it would take 6-8 years to right the ship and that MSU could never compete regularly with the LSU and Bama's of the world. He purposely lowered the bar so low just so he could keep getting a fat paycheck. Fu@k Croom. That gigantic turd tried to turn MSU into a retarded Bama Lite. He copied everything Bama except the most important part. Winning. Remember how decked up he got and stood on the sidelines soaking up Bama's stadium his last time coaching there. He cared about himself and trying to audition for Bama. That is all he cared about. Then he had the nerve to call race into his firing as a decision. Gonna go puke now.

[mstatefan91]

Seriously, WTF guys?! We are f*ckin #1 in the GD country with an SEC road game and you are all having hissy fits over a coach's comments who hasn't been here for 6 years?! F*cking really?!

I may or may not be drinking tonight....

[War Machine Dawg]

Y'all failed to mention the worst part about Croom imo. He intentionally put MSU down so that he could extend his contract longer. He repeatedly said how awful the program was and that it would take 6-8 years to right the ship and that MSU could never compete regularly with the LSU and Bama's of the world. He purposely lowered the bar so low just so he could keep getting a fat paycheck. Fu@k Croom. That gigantic turd tried to turn MSU into a retarded Bama Lite. He copied everything Bama except the most important part. Winning. Remember how decked up he got and stood on the sidelines soaking up Bama's stadium his last time coaching there. He cared about himself and trying to audition for Bama. That is all he cared about. Then he had the nerve to call race into his firing as a decision. Gonna go puke now.

I've never seen a coach who was so openly antagonistic/hostile towards his fan base as Crxxm was toward us.

[War Machine Dawg]

I think a lot of things that we are seeing with Dan is what Croom wanted and envisioned, but he couldn't implement them. And thus, he was fired.

The thing I like the best about Dan is he appears to be very detail oriented from a fundamentals standpoint, and overall he has done a good job with recruiting players that work hard and seem to be good people. And I think that's a lot of what killed Croom. It's one thing to talk it, but you have to walk it. And that's not easy- and Dan really should be commended for what he has done in that respect, which I think gets overlooked a lot.

I also think he didn't get Mississippi and that hurt him a lot too. Instead of recruiting Alabama so hard, he probably should have done what Dan is doing now- focus on Mississippi guys and try to beat the bushes for the Benardrick McKinney's and Chris Jones's. I don't think he fully understood the Egg Bowl rivalry either- see 45-0. We never had the focus and intensity that we should have had for that game other than maybe 2005 when Norwood carried us to a win.

Nailed it. Everyone overlooks this aspect of the Crxxm Error. He was convinced you couldn't win with MS players, so he tried to get the "overlooked" players in Alabama. The problem is those "overlooked" players all sucked and never had even a sniff of interest from any legit D-I program. In contrast, look at Bear Wilson. Yeah, he was "overlooked," but the Auburn was after him hard the final 6 weeks or so of his recruitment. They new he was a player and desperately wanted to sign him.

You're also correct that he never understood the importance of the Battle for the Golden Egg (starting now, I'm gonna bring back the REAL name of this game). Furthermore, he didn't care to understand its importance. By contrast, look at his predecessor. After losing to TSUN for the first time and catching serious hell, JWS said he hadn't understood how important that game was to our people. But he went on to say that he understood now and winning the Battle for the Golden Egg would be a priority. Before the wheels came off, The Kang was 6-3 in 9 games against the BearSharks. Crxxm, however, stressed beating Alabama. He was pissed they hired Shula over him and wanted blood. In a way, 45-0 is actually the worst example of Crxxm's inability to understand the Battle for the Golden Egg. Sure, that's the worst blowout by either side in the game's history. However, it really wasn't that big a shock. The signs had been there for weeks that the players had given up on Crxxm. I'd say the previous year, 2007, was a better example. Bowl eligibility on the line. Golden Egg Trophy at stake. No way a team is flat in that scenario.....oh wait. We were. It took us 3.5 Quarters to show up for that game. Just totally ridiculous, even though we wound up winning.

[I seen it dawg]

This guy is an abomination

[quickstrike2]

He is gone, that's the absolute best part about Sly Croom. That era will always make me appreciate a coach with some ability. And I say it again, the reason Croom is labeled as such a good guy is because there literally is nothing else to say about his era as a coach than that from the ones that defend him. And who knows, maybe that's not true either.

[Percho]

I actually took the article as a good thing. I'm glad to know that Croom still pulls for us to succeed. Maybe I'm reading it the wrong way.

I am with you. I think you are reading it correctly.

[LC Dawg]

I never really bought that Croom was getting rid of players because they were trouble. I really always felt he was getting rid of them to buy himself more time. I think he wasn't sure if he could win or not so he wanted a built in excuse that he didn't have any good players because he was cleaning up the program. The biggest player issue during his reign was by a player that he brought in from another school, who I think had some questions about his character (Brown - the OL dismissed for gun charges). When Croom has talked about not being given enough time he always has mentioned that he had to get rid of a lot of players because he cleaned up the program. For the record, I think Charlie Strong is using this same tactic at Texas.
That being said, I wish this would just go away because we are the #1 team in the country and I don't want our like/dislike of a former coach to become a big news item.

[MarketingBully01]

They guy that in 5 years couldn't put together a better offense than 103rd in the country

The guy who was more successful peepin' then coachin'. I have to say whenever I think of Croom nowadays it's of the peepin' variety and not the coach. Whoever came up with Peepin' Crooms was awesome. I have gotten more entertainment out of that then a lot of other stuff considering he gave us that lovely "Remember the Maine" game.

[TrapGame]

Croom was in way over his head. He had no business being a head coach.

[maroonmania]

Croom was in way over his head. He had no business being a head coach.

Should be able to read the tea leaves when a guy was a coach in the NFL for 18 years (when we hired him) but yet he can't really elevate himself above a RB coach. I realize he did get a 2 year stint as an OC but it didn't work out well.