As the first African American center at the University of Alabama, and one of the school’s first black players, Croom earned All-American honors, won three SEC championships and displayed the “can-do” attitude first instilled by his father, Rev. Sylvester Croom Sr. After playing for legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and then coaching under him for a decade, Croom moved on to the NFL as an assistant coach for 17 years before emerging as a leading candidate for what he considered to be the ultimate position—head coach at Alabama. Though it appeared in the spring of 2003 that Croom was on the verge of being named Alabama’s next head coach, it was Mike Shula who ended up getting the job. But the following year, Croom was named head coach at another SEC school, Mississippi State University, making him the first African American head football coach in the history of the conference as well as leaving him with the formidable task of rebuilding a football program facing NCAA sanctions.
