GEORGE F. LEE / DEC. 25, 2003
Hawaii coach June Jones consults with quarterback Timmy Chang during the Hawaii Bowl game on Christmas 2003. Jones died Wednesday in Oregon at the age of 73.
June Jones, who led the University of Hawaii to one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history, died Wednesday in Oregon.
Jones, 73, who had suffered from type 1 diabetes and spinal problems, entered hospice two weeks ago, according to close family friends.
“This isn’t my loss,” said sportscaster Artie Wilson, who has been friends with Jones for more than six decades, “this is Hawaii’s loss.”
A UH quarterback in 1973 and 1974, Jones is the winningest coach in the program’s history. He turned down an opportunity to be the San Diego Chargers head coach to accept the head coaching job at UH in December 1998.
After inheriting a program that finished 0-12 the season before, Jones led the Warriors to a 9-4 record and a first-place tie in the Western Athletic Conference. At the time, it was the greatest turnaround in college football history and earned Jones a National Coach of the Year honor.
Under Jones, the Warriors went 12-0 in the 2007 regular season to win the WAC title and earn a berth in the Bowl Championship Series Sugar Bowl in 2008, losing to Georgia.
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Jim Donovan, who helped orchestrate Jones signing with UH in 1998, said his best moment “was standing up with 30,000 people and singing ‘Hawaii Pono‘i’ before the kickoff of the Sugar Bowl.”
Entering the final year of a contract extension, Jones said he would not negotiate once the 2007 season started. Herman Frazier, who was the athletic director at the time, delayed in making a concrete offer. A week after the Sugar Bowl, Jones accepted a five-year contract to be Southern Methodist University’s head coach. The next day, Frazier was fired as athletic director.
Jones coached nine seasons at UH, from 1999 to 2007, and earned 76 victories while leading the Rainbow Warriors to six bowl games and three 10-plus win seasons. His teams won two WAC titles and he helped produce record-breaking quarterbacks such as Timmy Chang, Nick Rolovich and Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan.
He also provided opportunities for recruits who had faced legal problems, such as Brennan, linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa and slotback Davone Bess. Bess and Tinoisamoa went on to play in the NFL.
“He took a chance on a kid from Oakland who didn’t have any other options,” Bess said. “He was a mentor. He was all the things I didn’t have, especially not having a father in my life. … I’m forever grateful.”
Jones was inducted into the Hawaii Circle of Honor in 2024.
Known for his offensive mind and bringing the run-and-shoot to Hawaii, Jones was introduced to the offense by Mouse Davis after transferring from UH to Portland State in 1975-76.
“He was like my son,” Davis said. “I was just sick when I heard (he died). He was very special. He would do anything for you. He was a hell of a guy.”
Jones was not drafted by the NFL but played for the Atlanta Falcons from 1977 to 1981 and carried that offensive acumen into his coaching career.
He was the quarterbacks coach at UH in 1983, then went to the pros as quarterbacks coach with the Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions and Falcons. Jones was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons from 1991 to 1993 and then became their head coach from 1994 to 1996. He was the quarterbacks coach and interim head coach with the Chargers in 1998, before deciding to take lesser pay to become the head coach at Hawaii.
He last coached as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL in 2023.
During his career, Jones coached future Hall of Fame members Jim Kelly, Warren Moon and Barry Sanders.
Correction: >> June Jones died Wednesday, not today as reported in an earlier version of this story.