Longtime professional football head coach June Jones has passed away at the age of 73. The news was announced by Run & Shoot Certification, a coaching clinic that Jones co-founded with former Toronto offensive coordinator Mouse Davis.
As a player, June Jones played college football at Oregon, Hawaii, and Portland State. He went undrafted in the 1977 NFL Draft. Jones signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 1977. He played four seasons in Atlanta, completing 75 of 166 passes (45.2%) for 923 yards, three touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 17 carries for 15 yards in 17 games. In 1982, he played for the Toronto Argonauts, completing 2 of 5 passes (40%) for 17 yards in one game. He retired after the 1982 season.
Jones began his coaching career in 1983 as a quarterback coach at Hawaii. He would later spend two seasons in the USFL as a wide receiver coach for the Houston Gamblers in 1984 and an offensive coordinator for the Denver Gold in 1985. In 1986, he was the offensive coordinator for the Ottawa Rough Riders. Next, he would spend 12 seasons in the NFL with the Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and the San Diego Chargers. He was the head coach for the Falcons from 1994 to 1996, and the Chargers in 1998, with a combined record of 22-36.
In 1999, he returned to the University of Hawaii as the head coach. During his time there, Jones coached the team to a 76-41 record, winning the Oahu Bowl in 1999, three Hawaii Bowls (2003-04, 2006), and losing to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in 2007. In 2008, he coached at Southern Methodist University. He went 36-43, tying for first place in Conference USA twice, and led the Mustangs to win the Hawaii Bowl in 2009.
Throughout his tenure, Jones won two WAC titles, two Conference USA West Division titles, three-time WAC Coach of the Year (1999, 2006-07), Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year (1999), American Football Coach/Schutt Sports National COY (1999), and CNN/SI National Coach of the Year (1999).
Jones stepped away from coaching after the 2014 season. He returned as an offensive coordinator at Kapolei High School in 2016 before returning to the CFL in 2017 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Tiger-Cats had fired Kent Austin when the team was 0-8, and Jones went 6-4 for them. In 2018, the Tiger-Cats went 8-10, losing the Eastern Semi-Finals to the Ottawa Redblacks. He stepped down from his head coaching duties after the 2018 season, turning the reins over to Orlondo Steinauer, who helped Hamilton reach two straight Grey Cups in 2019 and 2021.
In 2020, Jones returned to the sidelines to coach the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. The Roughriders were 5-0 when the league shut down due to COVID-19. Jones was named the XFL Coach of the Year. Later, he was the offensive coordinator for the Conquerors of the Spring League in 2020. Jones’s final coaching role was as an offensive coordinator for the Seattle Sea Dragons in 2023.
From all of us at BGMSportsTrax, our thoughts and prayers go out to Jones family, friends, and fans.
