Big Daddy didn't have too many coaches left over from their hey day when he took over. Remember Markham and all his cronies were gone and others retired. Even Cardell Jones was at Alcorn. That was yall transition years with younger JSU coaches coming in under Big Daddy except for a few like Hughes who had been around for years and due to the attrition of yall losing coaches along the way, he had made it up the ladder, hence him getting the job when Big Daddy got sick. They were the last of the 80s crew under W.C. The formula of JSU promoting within worked when WC replaced Hill and Big Daddy replace WC. JSU still had continuity. It was when Big Daddy got sick and passed on and Hughes took control when things started slipping. Even Big Daddy had stayed healthy and lived, he probably would have had to hire some younger guys to groom and keep the JSU thing going. So the formula was not a bad one. Now once you run out of good assistants to promote to the Head job, then you have to look outside. That is probably what should have happened after 99. But I remember JSU handing the job to Hughes right before the SCG in 99 to not affect recruiting. Folks who wanted John Shannon at the time were ticked off but I don't remember it being an outrage or anything. JSU just rolled with what had worked for them for years. I am sure WC had some input and Hughes was friends with many in that Blue Bengal Association. Was he deserving on the HC job. Probably not. But he is a good dude and I can see why JSU gave him the opportunity. He just didn't have the same solid assistants that his predecessors had. That year was probably when yall should have hired Fred Jackson from Michigan. I know for a fact he wanted the job back then. He would have been a better hire than John Shannon or Hughes in my opinion.
