June Jones, the pioneering football coach who revolutionized modern passing attacks through the run-and-shoot offense and revitalized programs from Honolulu to Dallas, died Thursday. He was 73.
His death was confirmed by the University of Hawai’i and announced by his Run and Shoot Certification program, according to reports from ESPN and USA TODAY Sports. Jones had experienced health complications this year and entered hospice care two weeks earlier, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Over five decades as a player and coach, Jones established himself as one of the sport’s boldest tactical minds. His wide-open, four-receiver scheme challenged football’s traditional run-heavy orthodoxy and laid the groundwork for today’s spread-passing concepts across college football and the NFL.
From backup passer to offensive architect
Born and raised in Oregon, Jones played quarterback at Oregon, Hawai’i and Portland State. Under Portland State head coach Mouse Davis, Jones mastered the unconventional run-and-shoot system, generating historic passing totals in the mid-1970s. After college, Jones spent five seasons in the NFL as an Atlanta Falcons quarterback and also played in the Canadian Football League.
Jones soon transitioned to coaching, serving as a Hawai’i assistant in 1983 before working in the United States Football League alongside Davis. In 1987, Houston Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville hired Jones as quarterbacks coach, providing a premier platform to implement the system in the NFL with future Hall of Famer Warren Moon. Jones later teamed with Davis on the Detroit Lions’ staff and served as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator before taking over as Atlanta’s head coach after the 1993 season.
In 1995, Jones guided the Falcons to the postseason, but he was dismissed following a 3-13 campaign in 1996. He later served as interim head coach for the San Diego Chargers for 10 games in 1998, according to ESPN.
Transforming Hawai’i and reviving SMU
Jones declined a chance to pursue the permanent job in San Diego, opting instead to take the helm at Hawai’i in 1999. He inherited a Rainbow Warriors team that had finished 0-12 the previous autumn. In his debut season, Jones orchestrated what was then the largest one-year turnaround in NCAA history, finishing 9-4 and earning national coach of the year honors.
Over nine seasons in Honolulu, Jones compiled a 76-41 record, making him the winningest head coach in program history. His offenses rewrote national passing records, first with quarterback Timmy Chang — who set the NCAA career passing yardage mark — and later with Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan. In 2007, Jones guided the Rainbow Warriors to a 12-0 regular season and their first Bowl Championship Series appearance, a berth against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
“Coach Jones was a father figure, a mentor, and a visionary who revolutionized the game,” Chang, now Hawai’i’s head coach, said in a statement reported by ESPN. “He believed in a young kid from Hawai’i and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to run his offense.”
In 2008, Jones took over at SMU, taking on another major rebuilding assignment. He guided the Mustangs to four consecutive bowl berths — the program’s first postseason games since the NCAA handed down the “death penalty” in 1987 — and captured consecutive division crowns in 2009 and 2010.
Jones compiled a 112-84 overall collegiate head coaching record before concluding his career with coaching stints in the CFL and the XFL, where he led the Houston Roughnecks to an undefeated 5-0 start before the league paused operations in 2020. The University of Hawai’i inducted Jones into its Sports Circle of Honor in 2024.
