Four years after becoming the first black man to be hired as head coach in the Southeastern Conference, Mississippi State coach, Sylvester Croom, resigned. After his team’s 45-0 defeat in the Egg Bowl on Saturday, Croom announced that he was calling it quits.
Sadly, for college football and the black community, Croom’s departure brings the overall number of black coaches in Division 1 down to three. Coupled with Croom’s resignation was the firing of Tyrone Willingham at the University of Washington and Ron Prince at Kansas State. With several job openings in the country presenting themselves, it will be interesting to see if the number of African American head coaches increases before the start of the 2009 season. Yet, with the number of black coaches being at its lowest mark since 1993 and the fact that from 1996 to 2006 only 12 of 199 vacancies went to blacks, the NCAA is looking at more glaring problems than just their Bowl Championship system.
Here are the three black coaches who will assuredly be working in 2009 and a look at what they have done to be successful –gavin philip godfrey
Who: Turner Gill
School: University of Buffalo
How he’s succeeded: A former offensive assistant in the National Football League, Gill was touted as one of the nation’s top recruiters while he was with Nebraska (1996-2004). In 2006, Gill took a lowly University of Buffalo football program and led them to five wins- their most ever- a feat that earned Gill the Mid-American Coach of the Year award. This year, Gill led the Buffs to seven wins and the Mid-American East Conference regular season title. The Buffs are set to face undefeated Ball State this Friday for the league championship. Gill is currently a candidate for the head coaching job at Syracuse University.
Who: Randy Shannon
School: University of Miami
How he’s succeeded: Known as a defensive and recruiting mastermind, Shannon was tapped by Miami to revive the program. After a tumultuous first year, in which “The U” finished with a sub-500 season and missed the postseason, the Canes were a legitimate Atlantic Coastal Conference contender this year. At seven wins, Miami is bowl eligible and thanks to Shannon, a once-storied program is now playing and acting on their proud tradition.
Who: Kevin Sumlin
School: University of Houston
How he’s succeeded:It took 60 years, but Sumlin is the first-ever black coach for the University of Houston’s football program. In just his first year with the Cougars, the former University of Oklahoma offensive coordinator made his team a contender in Conference USA and led them to two victories over ranked opponents this year. Along with Gill, Sumlin is a much-talked-about candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Syracuse University.
