East Marion’s football program has a new head coach at the helm with the Marion County School Board approving the hiring of Brad Hughes Tuesday night.
Hughes, who most recently was the offensive coordinator at Mize High School, was on Anthony Dillon’s East Marion coaching staff from 2010 through 2012, a period in which the Eagles went to the state championship in 2011 and the south state championship in 2012. Hughes said he knows what kind of talent East Marion traditionally has and the quality of the student athletes, which drew him to apply for the position.
“I hope to continue the winning tradition that is a part of the school and the community,” he said. “I would like to be a good leader and be a positive guy in that leadership role as head coach. There’s a lot more that goes into it than just X’s and O’s.”
Former head coach Kevin Jackson retired after seven season leading the Eagles, compiling a 68-67 record with three south state championship appearances.
East Marion Athletic Director Calvin Brown said first and foremost Hughes is a good man and that he’s a solid coach with a lot upside, especially because he’s already familiar with the school and program.
“We’re excited. We feel really good about the hire,” he said. “I’ve learned that it’s a lot easier to find a good coach than find a good fit. The more we went through the process — myself and the selection committee — he separated himself as a good fit. From his teaching and tenure to where he is in his career, we feel like he’s in his prime and at the same time still hungry.”
Brown added that he believes Hughes, 39, is at the point in his career where he wants to build a program as a head coach and stay there. “He checked all the boxes that we were looking for,” he said.
Hughes said he takes pride in being a positive mentor for his athletes and students, and he’s super excited about having his first head coaching opportunity.
“I’m ready to get to work,” he said. “COVID-19 has us in a predicament with not having the opportunity to go through spring with them. That set us back a little bit, but hopefully this thing will end soon and we can do some summer workouts and some 7-on-7 to start implementing the system with them.”
His background is an offensive coach, beginning with playing offensive line at Mount Olive and Jones College. He was the offensive coordinator at North Forrest, Mount Olive and Mize and said he’s going to have to evaluate the talent the Eagles have before determining what system he wants to run. Traditionally his teams have operated out of the pro I-formation as well as having spread packages.
While Hughes was unanimously approved by the school pending a background check, Board Member Larry Jenkins asked East Marion Principal Cindy Newsome about the interview process. He first asked how many applied for the position, with Newsome replying about 30. He then asked how many of those were seriously considered, which she responded saying about 11 or 12. She further said that from that group, the selection committee whittled it down to three candidates that they interviewed for the position.
Jenkins asked how many of those three were minorities, and Newsome said one was. Jenkins said that while he supports the hiring of Hughes as head coach, they need to be mindful of having diversity amongst the coaching staffs at both East Marion and West Marion. Last season both schools had just one minority assistant, and Jenkins said he is regularly asked about it in the community, which is what he said prompted him to inquire about minority candidates.
Jenkins, Brown, Newsome and Jackson are black, and Hughes is white.
