I've been thinking about the Croom/Byrne situation. I think that people might be giving GB a little too much credit over the Cohen hire. Granted it took balls to get rid of Polk, but Cohen was as sure a thing as they come. There was no real "national" broad search. He basically said "hey you want the job, right". This isn't meant as a knock against GB. I think he made the best choice, but that doesn't mean he will be able or willing to get rid of Croom, or able to bring Belichick to Starkville. I think we can all agree that MSU probably isnt GB's dream position and I'm not sure that he will be willing to fire the SEC's first black coach. I think his aspirations will definitely play a role in this. Tell me why I'm wrong. And try not to use the "GB could hire anybody and they would be better than what we got" routine.
Greg Byrne.....Superman?
- Thread starter Liverdawg
- Start date
The first SEC AA coach crap will just have to work itself out. When 90% of the ticket buying/bill paying supporters say that`s enough , something has to give.</p>
If he indeed does want to use MSU as a stepping stone to a bigger job, would it be better for him to be known as the guy who had the guts to fire the SEC's first black coach, made a great hire, and made MSU a relevant football program again, or would it be better for him to be known as the guy who didn't hire the SEC's first black coach but instead let him continue to run an already struggling MSU football program further into the ground? I think I know which one he would choose. Byrne's future aspirations weighing heavily in this is best for us. He has to do well here if he wants to move on; Croom is counter-productive to that.
at least a little ambitious. And I definitely think that GB would pull the trigger eventually on Croom. I just dont know if I see it happening the year after he got SEC coach of the year and a contract extension. I also agree that being the first AA coach shouldnt have any relevance, but we all know that it does. And this is Mississippi we are talking about. Joe Blow in younamethetown, middle america isn't gonna care two ***** about Croom's record. He will see this headline "<span style="font-weight: bold;">MISSISSIPPI</span> state <span style="font-weight: bold;">FIRES</span> first <span style="font-weight: bold;">BLACK</span> coach in sec" and that will be all he needs to know. He will then return to his meth lab. I think GB has this on his mind. And if he doesnt....he should. Thats not to say that I think Croom should get a pass. I'm just saying that those people who think this isnt gonna be a big deal are morons. Other fans in the SEC dont even know **** about the problems at MSU.
So we would take heat from the misinformed average Joe's? I can live with that.Liverdawg said:
Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame is a situation where I can understand people playing the race card. Firing a coach after he has his 4th losing season in 5 years? Not so much.
Joe Blow in Middle America isn't going to care that we fired Croom. It will be the elitist in the Northeast and West that will think "Mississippi will never change". The key will be to time the firing to be right after U Dub fires Willingham.
Now, I will agree that the more ignorant fans don't. We all know this type. Don't really follow football, but lives in the south and has to know just enough about SEC football to be able to have friends. They are the type that will see the "Say it out Loud" and think, "Man, that's a great coach." They are the ones that will think firing Croom was a mistake, which won't matter to us or anyone else, because they are idiots.
Now the fans that actually live and breath SEC football know the problems at MSU. They may not know all the problems but they know enough to agree that Croom is not SEC material. Trust me, I met them and plenty of them. They all think he's a great guy, like most of us, but being a good guy doesn't win games. They see that his in game decision making is terrible. I mean I went to the G.T. game last week, and I can't remember how many times other SEC fans brought up the 4 and 15 call. We aren't the only ones that notice Crooms inability to make in game decisions, or his record, or our offensive woes.
I was told from sources that the part of the administration's job offer to Croom was that the first 2 years he was our football coach it would be a wash. In other words, they would not start evaluating his job performance until the 2006 season because of the shape our program was in when he took over
If I recall correctly we pursued Pat Casey and interviewed several candidated before hiring Cohen. You make it sound as if we just called up Cohen and gave him the job LT style. Furthermore, Byrne gets the credit he does from the fanbase not only for hiring Cohen, but also for sticking to his guns and going against the wishes of Ron Polk. Polk went crazy trying to get Raffo hired. Byrne really had to stick to it and weather the storm to make what most believe is the right hire. Ron Polk had gotten his way here for a long time so that was quite the occasion, and Byrne deserves every bit of credit he has received.
that "there will be a new AD at MSU in the future", then he says sheepishly, "hopefully not soon". I have always interpreted this as a telegraph of the MSU position being a stepping stone job. But that is what I want. Hell, give me the up and comers who want to make there mark, both ADs and Head Coaches. Give us five or six good years and then bring in the next winner. As for HC: Greg Byrne will force Croom to hire a Off Coor. at the end of this year, and Croom will get another shot. If recruiting class stays in tack, I am willing to give this a chance.
Cohen. Everyone else said thanks, but no thanks. And that was for our baseball program which anyone can agree is held in higher regard than our football. I gave credit to Byrne for showing Polk the door and I thought that Cohen was the best possible coach for us two years ago. All I'm saying is that Croom will have another year and it is stupid to think that Byrne can lead a successful head coach away from a BCS conference. I hope he proves me wrong on both accounts.
Who said thanks but no thanks? I mean if you are talking about Casey, well he's from Oregon, and he's coaching in Oregon. Who the hell expected him to come to Mississippi? I know I sure didn't. Other than that, I didn't hear of anyone else offered the job except Cohen.
Ummm.... Am I missing something here? Jesus could be our AD and he wouldn't be able to land a SUCCESSFUL head coach away from a BCS conf. to come to State. Now, I would expect a successful Coordinator or a successful non-bcs coach. And if we didn't get one of those, then I would be disappointed in Greg.
Polk was also sabotaging the search the whole time as well, to try to get Raffo in as the HC. I know that Steve Smith was interviewed but withdrew his name out of "respect for Polk". I'm pretty sure that Polk gave him a phone call telling him to not take the job.
In fact, Polk did the exact same thing to Cohen, except that apparently Cohen has a mind of his own and wisely decided to take the job even though it upset Polk at the time. This is where Cohen is pretty smart- there will always be Polk's loyalists, but with this entire incident, he allowed Polk to make himself look bad to the point where even KB21 couldn't defend him anymore and at the same time this forced Polk to leave the program entirely for at least the time being. Now Cohen can build his program without any interference. Anyway, John Cohen knew that this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get his dream job, and let's face it- I don't think he could have done any more at UK other than just maintain the program where it currently is anyway, and I don't think their fans are going to show up anyway. It was a good time for him to move up.
In fact, Polk did the exact same thing to Cohen, except that apparently Cohen has a mind of his own and wisely decided to take the job even though it upset Polk at the time. This is where Cohen is pretty smart- there will always be Polk's loyalists, but with this entire incident, he allowed Polk to make himself look bad to the point where even KB21 couldn't defend him anymore and at the same time this forced Polk to leave the program entirely for at least the time being. Now Cohen can build his program without any interference. Anyway, John Cohen knew that this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get his dream job, and let's face it- I don't think he could have done any more at UK other than just maintain the program where it currently is anyway, and I don't think their fans are going to show up anyway. It was a good time for him to move up.
that Oregon is a LONG way from here.
I would have been worried that he would have only come to MSU for the money because if he was a total flop, he could always go back to Oregon and still be revered.
I would have been worried that he would have only come to MSU for the money because if he was a total flop, he could always go back to Oregon and still be revered.
...you are on to something. I have no doubt that Byrne will, when the time comes, conduct a national search. The real question is, who can you get? This is not baseball. There is not some ultra successful football alumni with head coaching experience that wants to come home. We have no proud tradition, no name, or anything else. I believe we can get somebody better, right now, it feels like you could spit and hit somebody better, but the parting ways with Croom has to be handled very carefully. And you are spot on about the recruiting class. It's very important to get a Tyler Russell in the program, even if he is playing for the next coach. You do what you have to do to keep that class in tact. Funny thing is, I have the feeling that most of those guys want to play for Croom and would actually like to see a new offense or offensive coaches.
Your other problem is you are assuming the only way to have a successful search is to land a BCS conf. head coach. The only BCS conf coaches we could land would be ones we dont want unless you mean Coordinators. Byrne can land one of those and Im sure of it. I recall him specifically saying that he has a short list of coaches for every sport. Just guessing here, but I bet his list isnt <1. Pete Carroll 2. Urban Meyer 3. Bob Stoops> or <1. Ed Orgeron 2. Joe Lee Dunn 3. Phillip Fulmer>
...but I am pretty sure Smith removed his name right around the time flights were being tracked to Lexington. I think he removed it because he knew he wasn't getting it, and less out of repect for Polk.
My point in saying "there was no REAL national search" didnt come out right. I guess i shouldve said it wasnt a typical search in the fact that there was already a highly skilled candidate that wanted the job. My only point in saying this is that its tough to compare our baseball search to a potential football coach search. As to the BCS coach statement....i dont think we have a shot at a BCS head coach we would want, <span style="font-weight: bold;">but other posters have mentioned coaches like they are a sure thing</span>. I also would rather have a small conference head coach than a BCS coordinator. Just my preference.