...and I agree that MSU has inherant disadvantages. I will say however, that one thing about Croom...the one thing that should give him a longer leash than he deserves...is that he is special. Based on factors outside of our control, MSU is down in a hole that is almost impossible to climb out of. Every once in awhile, we can get a good running start and peak over the top, but we'll eventually have to face the reality that we will always fall right back in the hole.
HOWEVER, Croom gave/gives us something that gives us an unmatchable advantage over our peers. He will always, always, always be the only man who broke the color barrier in SEC football. No one can take that away from him or from MSU. IF Croom could be successful, he could propel us to the top. With some success, he would become a nationally known figurehead. 90% of the college football players in our region are black, and they (and their mommas) inherently identify and trust Croom more than his peers. He had/has the potential, with some success, to go head to head against LSU or Florida for players. He has/had the potential, with some success, to go head to head against LSU or Florida for media coverage. I don't see any other plausible scenario where that could happen at MSU.
All that said, our program is in a state of disarray. We are at a crossroads. I personally think we should consider holding onto Croom for as long as we can bear it. We will never have another opportunity like he presents. We took the same type of gamble that McCain took by choosing Palin, one that had to be taken to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Palin could turn out to be a giant mistake for McCain, but it sure doesn't look that way. Without her though, McCain had no chance. He threw the long ball, and right now the ball is on its way down and it looks like his receiver has the defense beat. But there's always a chance the defender could recover or his receiver could drop it.
We were in the same place when we hired Croom. We could have made the best 'traditional' hire possible and gone to two or three mediocre bowl games with more on the way. But we'd never get over that hump. He would have been Tim Pawlenty, a white, male Governor. We'd never climb out of that hole. He would just be a good coach competing against other good coaches with better fanbases, better facilities, more tradition, and more money. As soon as he had some success, he would leave to join their ranks.
Anyway, enough with that analogy. I think everyone agrees that Croom being successful would be the absolute best thing for MSU, but I don't mean that in the same way Ole Miss fans may have meant it toward the end of Orgeron's tenure. I mean it such that this remains a once-in-a-generation type of opportunity for MSU football and that we should do everything we can possibly do to make it a success. Part of that will be at the end of this season. Byrne will have to convince Croom that he needs to continue to be CEO, but let other, new faces come in and innovate. While doing this, Byrne will be faced with the perhaps insurmountable task of managing Croom's pride.
