I think that's probably true. You're going to have to give him a shot to make offensive changes if you want to avoid media backlash. I personally don't look at it this way, but the media will look at it in a similar light to what we did to Cutcliffe if you get rid of him this year. Regardless of what you've seen or what the stats say, they see a nice guy coach that made a big stride for your program last year. If you don't give him another year after this one to prove that he isn't making progress, you'll take heat from the media.
And personally, I don't think any of the heat will be race related, or at least a very minimal amount will be. Most of it will be due to you firing a guy that the media likes, and a guy that they will think wasn't given enough time. Basically, the media is filled with a bunch of Rick Clevelands. They want nice guys to be given a really long leash.
Edited to add: I think the problem may come if and when Byrne tells Croom he needs to make changes. I could see Croom pulling a Cutcliffe, telling Byrne no. Then, the question will be whether Byrne still lets him have another year, or will he give him the axe?
