Bell Retains 3 former Assistants at JSU


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January 18, 2003

JSU coach retains 3 from previous staff


By Mark Alexander
[email protected]

New Jackson State head football coach James Bell said Friday he will retain three assistant coaches from former coach Robert Hughes' staff.

They are: Defensive coordinator Greg Johnson, defensive backs coach Robert Kelly and assistant defensive line coach Ronald Reed.

The assistant coaches Bell elected not to keep include offensive coordinator Darrell Asberry, offensive line coach Carl Roberts, running backs coach Grailyn Pratt and defensive line coach Kai Burrell, although he said there is a possibly he could bring back one of those assistants if he can't find the coaches he's looking for.

Bell made his decision after lengthy interview sessions with each coach over the past few days.

"I think they're all good football coaches," Bell said. "I could've kept them all, that's how comfortable I felt with them. But I have my plan. It's all about timing, and who is the best fit based on my philosophy, my personality."

Bell said he plans on hiring a new defensive coordinator, meaning that Johnson will be moved to a position coach. Kelly and Reed could also be placed in different roles, Bell said.

"I don't know where I'm going to put them," Bell said. "Nothing is cut and dry at this point, that's why I said there's still a chance I could bring one of those other guys back. I brought back three, but there could be more."

A local television station had recently reported, erroneously, that Johnson would return as defensive coordinator and Roberts would return as offensive line coach.

Bell said he hopes to fill the remaining staff vacancies "as soon as possible." He will begin interviewing candidates next week. Bell wouldn't reveal any names as to who he had in mind to bring in as offensive and defensive coordinator.

"The bottom line is that I'm going to bring in somebody that knows my system," said Bell, who has received inquiries from 95 coaches. "I want guys who have been associated with the offense and defense that I know. Then we'll go from there."

Kelly, a former All-SWAC defensive back at JSU in the early 1970s, has been an assistant coach at JSU the past 15 seasons. He served as the Tigers' defensive coordinator in 1995, 1996 and 1999-2001.

Kelly, who coached defensive backs this past season, also serves as JSU's recruiting and film coordinator.

Johnson helped turn around JSU's defense this past season ? his first. The Tigers ranked third in the SWAC in total defense after finishing seventh the previous season, and they ranked third in pass defense after finishing ninth in that category the previous season.

Reed served as an assistant defensive line coach this past season.

Graduate assistants Marcus Rogers and Antonio Wright will also remain on the staff, Bell said.

No full-time offensive coaches were retained although JSU ranked first in the nation in total offense, second in pass offense and averaged 30 points per game.

"I'm surprised by that," said Asberry, who was the Tigers' offensive coordinator the past two seasons. "The offense was the backbone of the team.

"Am I bitter about it? No. It's (Bell's) decision. I wish him, the staff and the program well. It's still my alma mater, so I would like to see the program do well."

Meanwhile, Hughes has declined an offer to teach at the university, also his alma mater.

"I've retired," Hughes said Friday. "I don't want any more dealings with Jackson State University."
 



"I've retired," Hughes said Friday. "I don't want any more dealings with Jackson State University."
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Damn, sounds like Hughes is as bitter as Gorden was when he was err..... let go. :eek2:
 
Re: Re: Bell Retains 3 former Assistants at JSU

Originally posted by mighty hornet


"I don't want any more dealings with Jackson State University."

:eek: :eek:

Click to expand...

Does this mean that Hughes will rescind his alumni assoc membership? :confused:
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~snickle~
 
Re: Re: Bell Retains 3 former Assistants at JSU

Originally posted by mighty hornet

:eek: :eek:


sooooo, looks like JSU will have new HC, new OC, new DC.

:snicker:
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That was the plan all along. I wonder what will happen to Assberry now. He'll make a good coach, he's just immature as hell. He needs to spend some time under a strong head coach, or in the highschool ranks.
 
Kool-Aid,
ASSberry got a whole lot of growing up to do, before he would make a good HC on any level.


Panthro,
Hughes should try to become president of the Blue Bengal Athletic Assn.
I'm sure he wouldn't mind writing a few letters!
:lol::lol:
 
Originally posted by mighty hornet
Kool-Aid,
ASSberry got a whole lot of growing up to do, before he would make a good HC on any level.

Click to expand...

I meant if he spent some time as an assistant. Someone is gonna look at the numbers his teams put up and give him a call.
 
Re: Re: Re: Bell Retains 3 former Assistants at JSU

Originally posted by Kool-Aid2K1


That was the plan all along. I wonder what will happen to Assberry now. He'll make a good coach, he's just immature as hell. He needs to spend some time under a strong head coach, or in the highschool ranks.
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Everyone does not know all of the bad things about Asberry. I think that he has a good system but he needs to go to a school with talent to run it. That is what Shannon had to learn the hard way. The man put up some good numbers not only in the SWAC but in the nation. He just needs the right direction and he needs to learn how to act. Hughes should not be his mentor. I really think the best thing for him to do is to try to become a position coach at a larger school to broaden his offensive knowledge base and then try to work his way back into the BCF ranks. He's only 30 or 31 years old. He had time to learn and get better.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Bell Retains 3 former Assistants at JSU

Originally posted by Tigerpride


Everyone does not know all of the bad things about Asberry. I think that he has a good system but he needs to go to a school with talent to run it. That is what Shannon had to learn the hard way. The man put up some good numbers not only in the SWAC but in the nation. He just needs the right direction and he needs to learn how to act. Hughes should not be his mentor. I really think the best thing for him to do is to try to become a position coach at a larger school to broaden his offensive knowledge base and then try to work his way back into the BCF ranks. He's only 30 or 31 years old. He had time to learn and get better.
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Exactly. Had he not been so immature, he might've been given a chance to stay on staff.
 
Kool-Aid,
I'm not knocking ASSberry's decisions on game day when I say he needs to grow up. (although I could talk about that too). I'm talking about his juvenile actions away from the action----the tiger flap he had with Doug, some of the crazy quotes that he constantly made in the paper, making all kind of wild accusations, his wanting to fight the opposing coaches after a JSU loss. The brother needs to grow up!!!
 



http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0301/20/tcolbasket02.html

Tigers aim for return to glory

* New coach's mission to end SWAC title drought

Last in a series

By Mark Alexander
[email protected]

Jackson State has won or shared 15 Southwestern Athletic Conference football championships.

Tiger Checklist

Biggest . . .

4 Mystery: How will new coach James Bell fit in at Jackson State, and to what degree will hard-to-please Jackson State fans accept Bell, who was handpicked by athletic director Roy Culberson and unlike his predecessors has no ties to the university.

4 Offseason gain: Bell, who has over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience including stints as defensive coordinator at Indiana and Wake Forest, brings a new attitude, new energy and fresh ideas to a program that has slipped into a pattern of mediocracy.

4 Offseason loss: Linebacker Elgin Andrews. The All-SWAC linebacker, the heart and soul of JSU's defense last season, led the Tigers in tackles the past three seasons

4 Recruiting need: JSU lost its starting backfield of Tarnaka Counslor and Laurence Nolen so it's no secret the Tigers are in the market for a running back(s). Offensive line and secondary also need upgrading. Defensive end(s) with speed.

4 Spring challenge: A new staff means new schemes and new terminology on both sides of the ball. Spring practice will give the new offensive and defensive coordinators an opportunity to begin to install their respective systems in preparation for the fall.

Six of those titles came during the 1980s, a decade dominated by the Tigers, who during one stretch won a record 27 consecutive SWAC games.

Those days are gone.

JSU has kept winning since then, it just hasn't won enough to maintain that same level of excellence. The Tigers haven't won an overall SWAC title since 1996, a stretch of six seasons.

Some JSU fans have pointed the finger at what they perceive to be inferior coaching. Some, including some of those coaches, say the administration has put less emphasis on the football program and hasn't provided the necessary resources or facilities. Others suggest the other teams in the SWAC have caught, and in some cases, have passed JSU.

Whatever the reason or reasons one chooses to latch on to, there's little arguing that JSU doesn't enjoy the same stature it once did within its own conference.

The man who has been enlisted to return the tradition rich program back to prominence is James Bell, who was hired in late December to replace Robert Hughes.

Hughes guided a talent-laden JSU team to the SWAC East title in 1999, but the Tigers finished with three 7-4 seasons under Hughes and failed to make it back to the SWAC Championship Game. At most schools, a winning record is good enough. But not at JSU, which is used to winning championships by the bunches.

Although Bell has no ties to JSU, he's well aware that the school's football program is at a crossroads.

"My goal is to bring it back to where it used to be," Bell said. "I want to get the program back to the championship level, and I want to keep it there."

Bell says he "has no timetable on that," saying only that "if we do what we're supposed to and take care of business, everything else will take care of itself."

Bell, in his first year as a collegiate head coach after over 20 years as an assistant, has impressed those close to the program with his organization skills and professionalism since arriving on the job earlier this month.

"You can tell he's got a plan, and he's moving forward," said JSU assistant coach Robert Kelly, one of three assistants from Hughes' staff that Bell kept on board.

One of Bell's toughest challenges figures to be winning over JSU's fervent fans, many of which are upset by the coaching search process headed by athletic director Roy Culberson, who handpicked Bell.

Some JSU fans have even threatened to stage a rally on campus in protest.

"I've heard them say I'm Culberson's guy, and all of that other stuff," said Bell, who like Culberson has received his share of negative e-mails. "But you have to prove yourself anywhere you go. We (coaches) are going to get criticized no matter what. Why should we worry about that? I've got much more important things to worry about than what someone may be saying about me."

The most pressing items on Bell's to-do list include hiring of assistant coaches to complete his staff, recruiting and finishing off his one-on-one interview sessions with returning players.

He has yet to indicate who he plans to bring in as his offensive and defensive coordinators, although that could be determined by the Feb. 5 National Signing Day.

"I want to make the right decision for the players and for the program," Bell said. "If I can't find the right coaches, or am not able to pay them enough money to get them here, I'd rather teach it myself. It's going to be my system, on offense and defense."

That means a move away from the wide-open, pass-happy offense featuring four- and five-wide receiver sets of the past several seasons. It also means a different defensive scheme for the third time in the past three seasons, one featuring less man-to-man coverage and multiple looks.

"We're not going to throw it 80 percent of the time," Bell said. "You can forget that. We're going to be more balanced."

JSU won't completely ditch the no huddle, but it will no longer be the staple of the offense as in past years. And there will be a different method of sending in plays.

"We're not going to have a lot of wholesale changes," Bell said. "I want to be able to run a lot of different things without changing personnel. That way the defense doesn't know what's coming at them. And there's always an audible."

The man running that offense will be record-setting senior quarterback Robert Kent, who will be learning from his third different offensive coordinator. Kent heads a list of 17 returning starters ? eight on offense, nine on defense.

That number includes the top four receivers ? who along with Kent were the centerpiece for the nation's No. 2 passing offense ? and the entire defensive front. Major losses include linebacker Elgin Andrews, the team's leading tackler, and the potent 1-2 running back combo of Tarnaka Counslor and Laurence Nolen.

Those are positions Bell hopes to address in his first recruiting class, which will likely include 10-14 scholarship players (JSU had only 10 seniors on scholarship last season).

"I feel real good about what we've got returning," Bell said. "I'm looking forward to working with them."

The returning players can get ready for a crash course in football. "They are going to get to know football," Bell said. "I'm going to constantly quiz them." And they can also get ready for more stringent conditioning, beginning this week with 6 a.m. workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Also, Bells says more emphasis will also be placed on special teams, a phase of the game that has haunted JSU in recent years.

"There needs to be vast improvement in that area, and I plan on that happening. We've got to be able to protect and cover. Those are basic fundamentals."
 
SOMEONE IS IN NEED OF A SIGNATURE CHANGE:


TURN 'EM LOOSE TOUR 2002!!!!!!!!!

Move over. JSU will take it from here.
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T.P. THIS MEANS YOU!!!!!!!
 
Originally posted by mighty hornet
Kool-Aid,
I'm not knocking ASSberry's decisions on game day when I say he needs to grow up. (although I could talk about that too). I'm talking about his juvenile actions away from the action----, some of the crazy quotes that he constantly made in the paper, making all kind of wild accusations, his wanting to fight the opposing coaches after a JSU loss. The brother needs to grow up!!!
Click to expand...

Pot Kettle Black.....so is Coles already grown or what?

And when did Asberry try to fight a coach after a loss? Thats a new one on me.
 
Originally posted by Tigerpride
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0301/20/tcolbasket02.html

JSU has kept winning since then, it just hasn't won enough to maintain that same level of excellence. The Tigers haven't won an overall SWAC title since 1996, a stretch of six seasons.

Some JSU fans have pointed the finger at what they perceive to be inferior coaching. Some, including some of those coaches, say the administration has put less emphasis on the football program and hasn't provided the necessary resources or facilities. Others suggest the other teams in the SWAC have caught, and in some cases, have passed JSU.

Whatever the reason or reasons one chooses to latch on to, there's little arguing that JSU doesn't enjoy the same stature it once did within its own conference.

Mike told GR this

Although Bell has no ties to JSU, he's well aware that the school's football program is at a crossroads.

Bell says he "has no timetable on that," saying only that "if we do what we're supposed to and take care of business, everything else will take care of itself."

Maybe twenty years


One of Bell's toughest challenges figures to be winning over JSU's fervent fans, many of which are upset by the coaching search process headed by athletic director Roy Culberson, who handpicked Bell.

JSU Mafia is responsible


The most pressing items on Bell's to-do list include hiring of assistant coaches to complete his staff, recruiting and finishing off his one-on-one interview sessions with returning players.

He has yet to indicate who he plans to bring in as his offensive and defensive coordinators, although that could be determined by the Feb. 5 National Signing Day.

GR is being considered

"That means a move away from the wide-open, pass-happy offense featuring four- and five-wide receiver sets of the past several seasons. It also means a different defensive scheme for the third time in the past three seasons, one featuring less man-to-man coverage and multiple looks.

Football Team is now in the President's Office

JSU won't completely ditch the no huddle, but it will no longer be the staple of the offense as in past years. And there will be a different method of sending in plays.

Will use had signal like D1A

The returning players can get ready for a crash course in football. "They are going to get to know football," Bell said. "I'm going to constantly quiz them." And they can also get ready for more stringent conditioning, beginning this week with 6 a.m. workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
 Is this legal? NCAA

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Do You Remember?

I get so tired of hearing these Alabama State folks talking smack on how they have been beating JSU. Do you clowns remember JSU putting a foot in that azz for about 19 years straight. Our win / loss record with you clowns is not even close. Can someone please post the all-time record so these ASU folks can shut the hell up.
 
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