Respect from his peers goes a long way in the eyes of Mississippi State head football coach Sylvester Croom.After all, it’s respect that earned Croom the two highest honors he said he’s ever received: a captain position on his 1974 Alabama Crimson Tide football team and his recent Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year award, an honor that is voted upon by the conference’s 12 head coaches.
Croom said his initial reaction to the award was one of amazement and deep appreciation.
“It’s truly a great honor to receive from the other coaches,” he said. “Any award that the people you work with and compete against give you shows you just how much they respect you, and respect, that’s what matters the most.”
The high level of competition in the SEC, including reigning national champions LSU, makes the award more prestigious for Croom.
“Just look at how many national championships our conference has,” he said. “This conference is the best, and the coaching in it is the best. For them to bestow this honor upon me is humbling.”
Croom was quick to add that his success during the 2007 season could not have been reached on his own.
“My coaching staff and players are more responsible for this award than I am,” he said. “This could not have been done without their hard work and dedication.”
That dedication is what Croom said turned his team around after his first three seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs’ coaching staff.
While those seasons had lone bright spots, such as the 2004 win over Florida or the 2006 victory over Croom’s alma mater, Alabama, each provided no more than three wins.
Croom’s first three seasons brought much criticism from the Bulldog faithful, and he said he learned how to take the good with the bad.
“I listen to the constructive criticism, but the others I don’t,” he said. “I put my concentration on my players and my team because the kids always believe.”
An eight-win 2007 season, including a Liberty Bowl victory over Central Florida, was State’s best showing in six years.
Croom said that effort had nothing to do with a change in talent but a change in the work ethic and mental toughness of his team.
“We’ve just finally learned how to win games, especially those close games,” he said. “Last year, we lost four games by just three points. This year, we learned to pull out a win in those same games, and before you can become a championship program, you have to learn how to win.”
Some fans have stuck by Croom the whole time, and he said one sticks out in his mind particularly.
“I have a card on my desk here from a guy named Terry Paul Graham,” Croom said. “He’s sent me a card or letter of encouragement every day since I’ve been here. There are some fans who have called, written or prayed since day one, regardless of the score, and now they’ve got something they can be proud of.”
The next task at hand for Croom and the Bulldogs is preparing for a successful 2008 season, and that begins with the recruiting trips currently being made and the finalizing of next year’s coaching staff.
While there are some position changes, such as former safeties coach Charlie Harbison replacing Ellis Johnson in the defensive coordinator role, the Croom era will continue on.
MSU President Robert “Doc” Foglesong announced last week that he was signing Croom to a four-year contract extension, keeping him in the head coaching job until 2011.
Financial details have yet to be confirmed, but Croom said he’s relieved by the decision.
“I’m very pleased that Doc likes what we’ve been doing enough to keep us around for the maximum four years,” Croom said. “It also helps with recruiting because guys know we’ll be here when they graduate.”
With spring practice right around the corner, Croom’s focus now is preparing his team to compete with the high-caliber teams in the conference next season with the ultimate goal being a trip to Atlanta and the SEC championship game in December.
Croom said he hopes the Liberty Bowl win and last season’s success will be a stepping stone for that goal.
“Winning a Liberty Bowl was a tremendous accomplishment, and I want the guys to enjoy it,” he said. “But we’ve got to build on it, and use it as a motivational tool towards getting that SEC championship.”
Croom said he plans on this being the most intense off-season program since he’s been at MSU and that spring practices will be longer and harder than before.
“We start all over again in the spring,” he said. “No one has a spot, and anyone who’s not willing to do what it takes for an SEC championship won’t stay here.”
One thing Croom doesn’t plan on changing is a close working relationship with both his coaching staff and players.
“We’re genuinely a family and interact as such,” he said. “Every decision we make is for the players’ welfare, and I always tell them if they’ll just stay with us four years, they’ll get an education and learn to be men who can go out in the world. That’s my goal for every one of them.