Former Ticats bench boss June Jones ‘close’ to be hired as University of Hawaii head coach again

Photo courtesy: Ticats.ca

June Jones wants to go back and work in the Aloha State.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic: Hearing June Jones is close to becoming the head coach at Hawaii again, per source. Jones, now 68, is the winningest coach in school history, going 76-41, including a 23-4 mark in his final two seasons.

Todd Graham resigned as head football coach at the University of Hawaii on Friday, January 14. Graham was hired in January 2020 and had just completed the second of a five-year contract. He was 11-11 in two seasons with the Rainbow Warriors.

“I’m saddened to see the program in the condition it’s in, which is probably worse than it was when I came in 1999,” Jones told Hawaii News Now. “It’s gonna take a special turnaround, a special group of guys getting it turned around. It’s not impossible, but it’s gonna be hard.”

Jones was originally hired by Hawaii in 1999 and following a 12-1 season in 2007, which ended with an appearance in the Sugar Bowl, he left for the top job at Southern Methodist University. He served as the offensive coordinator at Kapolei High School in Honolulu during the 2016 season.

Jones took over an 0-8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats team in 2017 and led them to six wins in their final 10 games, then guided the Ticats to an 8-10 record in 2018. The Tiger-Cats finished second in the East and reached the division final before losing to Ottawa. He stepped aside in December 2018 to allow Orlondo Steinauer to take over the head coach role in Hamilton.

The 68-year-old has 13 seasons of NFL coaching experience and 16 years at the NCAA level. He served as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1994-1996 and was the interim head coach of the San Diego Chargers in 1998.