Just 24 hours after the job was given to Edinburgh supremo Frank Hadden, Hugh claimed the time wasn't right for him to make the big step up. But he insisted he shouldn't be ruled out for promotion to the position in the future.
Hugh, whose squad are in Celtic League action tonight against Munster at Hughenden, said in today's Daily Record: "Among the three candidates I was the best qualified, having already been the forwards coach to a very successful national team and having been closely involved in various A-squads.
"But after a great deal of thought I came to the conclusion that the best way forward for me was to stay with Glasgow.
"The Scotland coach should be someone who is coming through on the back of real success at pro-team level and although the Warriors have improved, we have yet to achieve the right level of consistency.
"We have an excellent coaching and management team at Hughenden. We are continually developing and moving forward and I would hate to see that broken up."
For those reasons, Hugh insists he will have mixed emotions should backs coach Sean Lineen join Hadden's national set-up, or take over as head of the Edinburgh operation from Hadden.
He added: "We are driving this team ahead and I would be disappointed to lose Sean. But I would also be delighted for him if he landed a more influential position.
"My belief is that there is still a job to be done at Glasgow in terms of turning them into a consistent and potent force - both in the Celtic League and the Heineken Cup. Only once that has happened would I feel that it was the right time for me to move up the ladder. If the Scotland job became available at that point, I would certainly be keen to take it on."