[1] After his time at Mississippi State, Croom Jr. served as running backs coach for three teams in the National Football League (NFL).

During this eleven-year period on the Alabama staff Croom participated in ten bowl games, two national championships in 1978 and 1979, and he coached four eventual NFL first-round draft picks, including Cornelius Bennett and Derrick Thomas.

Before going to Green Bay, he served as offensive coordinator for Detroit from 1997 to 2000, and during his tenure in San Diego was on the Chargers' staff for Super Bowl XXIX.

[7] After the 2007 season, during which his team won eight games, including the Liberty Bowl, Croom garnered Coach of the Year awards from three organizations.

[9] After a 4–8 record in 2008, culminating with a 45–0 loss to rival Mississippi, Croom was asked by school officials to resign as the coach of the Bulldogs.

Croom has consistently downplayed the personal significance of his status as the first black head coach of an SEC football team.

A characteristic response has been that while he is proud of his African-American heritage, the most important part for him is "the head coach part" and the ability to pursue a dream he has held for all of his adult life, stating notably at a press conference upon his acceptance of the position "I am the first African-American coach in the SEC, but there ain't but one color that matters here, and that color is maroon."

An article published in USA Today on the day that Croom was hired listed a few responses from members of the political, cultural, and athletic communities.

"[14] On February 12, 2007, in observance of Black History Month President George W. Bush, at a gathering of African-American leaders and dignitaries where Croom was present, recognized the efforts and achievements of NFL football coaches Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, both acquaintances of Croom and a friend in Dungy's case.

"[15] In February 2008 Croom was featured in a half-hour segment of "Say it Loud," ESPN's documentary celebration of Black History Month.

In an interview with Black Athlete Sports Network in July 2003, after losing out to Mike Shula in the head coach vacancy for the University of Alabama, Croom speculated that race was more of a factor in that hiring process than University of Alabama athletic director Mal Moore let on and that he lost the job because of it.

In that same interview with Black Athlete Sports Croom acknowledged that he "had great support from the former players and the fans there and even some people within the administration," but that "Somewhere in the final process, somebody made another decision."

On the question of Croom's timing in his response to this issue being given only after Jackson's call for investigation, he continued by saying that "in this particular case, I felt I could speak for myself.

Elsewhere, Croom has treated his status as the first African-American head football coach in the SEC with the complexity he sees befitting the situation of a person so deeply connected to the American South.

"[16] In a 2003 article for the New York Daily News, Croom recalled his experiences of integration as a middle schooler in Tuscaloosa, the near-lynching of his father years before in a case of mistaken identity, and segregated restrooms, an institution which he said “bothered me [then], and it still does to this day."

His younger brother Kelvin Croom, a pastor and high school administrator, added: "We chose not to be intimidated.