In recent issues of Iron Man, when Dum Dum Dugan compares Tony Stark's job as Director of SHIELD to the way Nick Fury handled things even though Maria Hill had been the director of SHIELD in recent years...

A. It's because Marvel can't keep their continuity straight
B. It's because in they eyes of many, especially including Dum Dum Dugan, Nick Fury is the quintessential SHIELD director in whose shadow all subsequent SHIELD directors must live