Sometimes, cultural change is sudden and seismic. A single, major event occurs that shifts the landscape in a very obvious way.

Other times, it’s much more gradual. Attitudes and mindsets change over time — sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse — until you look up and say, “Huh. When did that happen?”

Two football coaching hires in Mississippi, a generation apart, are excellent examples of that.

Twenty years ago, when Sylvester Croom was hired by Mississippi State, he became the first Black head coach at the school as well as in the Southeastern Conference. That milestone was a talking point for months leading into his first season, and then a historic distinction for years afterward.

This week, Charles Huff was hired by Southern Miss. He is the 23rd head coach in the program’s history, and the first who is Black. It’s a historic milestone for a school in a state that has a long and difficult history with race that it’s still confronting both within and outside its borders.

Unlike when Croom was hired, however, Huff’s race was not a major topic of discussion.

It was mentioned, briefly, in some news stories after his hire was announced last weekend. When he was formally introduced Thursday in Hattiesburg, he was asked one question about it by the media. It came 12 minutes into a 37-minute press conference. Huff also touched on it in passing while answering an unrelated question near the end.

Huff acknowledged the achievement, but he and everyone else seemed much more interested in his plan to turn around a struggling Southern Miss program than the skin color of the person hired to do it. Huff’s race was a historical footnote, and little more.

“I do take a lot of pride and humility in the fact that I’m able to represent a minority. I take a lot of pride and humility in the fact that (USM director of athletics Jeremy McClain and president Dr. Joseph S. Paul) saw past my skin color and saw my credentials, my ability. I hope there’s more leaders that follow that trend,” Huff said. “That’s really what it is. They didn’t make a decision because of my skin color. They made a decision because I was the right fit, I had the right credentials, the right make-up for what they were looking for.”

Twenty years is a generation, maybe two, but it’s still not a long time when you think about it. Having a Black head coach at Mississippi State or Southern Miss was unthinkable in 1964, and probably still was in 1984. It was a major milestone in 2004, and barely even mentioned in 2024.

Croom certainly broke down a wall when he was hired by Mississippi State and made it easier for those who followed in his footsteps. If Southern Miss had hired Huff back then, he might be viewed as the trailblazer that Croom was. But now, 20 years later, the fact that Huff’s race is not even a blip on the radar is as noteworthy as Croom’s race was in 2004.

Our country is polarized more than ever on a lot of issues, including race, but that seems like the kind of progress we’ve been striving for all this time. It’s hard to say we should applaud something so simple, but it’s definitely worth noting and appreciating.

Huff did say he might have one thing in common with Croom when it comes to how fans treat him. Croom’s tenure at Mississippi State ended after five subpar seasons that included only one bowl appearance. If he doesn’t win at Southern Miss, Huff joked, he’ll end up on the scrap heap as well.

“At the end of the day I’ve still got to win games or I’ll be the first African-American head coach fired from Southern Miss,” Huff said with a laugh.

A lot of things change. Coaches who don’t win getting fired never will.

•

Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com