Former Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach June Jones was arrested on Friday night under suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol, according to a report from Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Star-Advisor.
The incident allegedly occurred at 9:58 p.m. local time in Honolulu. Jones was released later that night on $500 bail.
“I was speeding, and got stopped,” the 70-year-old said in a statement to Tsai. “I was coming from eating dinner. That’s all I need to say right now.”
Jones spent parts of two seasons as a head coach in the CFL, taking over an 0-8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats team in 2017 and leading them to six wins in their final 10 games. He then guided the Ticats to an 8-10 record in 2018, finishing second in the East and reaching 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, laying the foundation for a team that made two straight Grey Cup appearances.
As a player, Jones also served as a backup quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts in 1982, after playing four seasons with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. He was later the quarterbacks coach for the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1986.
The Portland, Ore. native 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. He later served as head coach of the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks and is currently employed as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons.
Jones has close ties to Hawaii, having played there from 1973-74, and now lives on the big island. He was the head coach of the University of Hawaii from 1999 until 2007, posting a 76-24 overall record and an undefeated regular season in his final year. He publicly lobbied to return to the job in 2022, before a heated public spat with the university.
