Longtime college and pro football coach June Jones, who helped popularize the run-and-shoot offense, has died at 73. The University of Hawai'i confirmed the death of Jones, who played quarterback for the Rainbow Warriors and later served as an assistant and head coach from 1999 to 2007.
Jones was the Atlanta Falcons' coach from 1994 to 1996 and also led teams at SMU, the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the XFL's Houston Roughnecks. He was the Chargers' interim coach for 10 games in 1998. Jones turned down the chance to remain Chargers coach and returned to Hawai'i, where he became the school's all-time winningest coach with a 76-41 record. He guided Hawai'i to conference titles in 1999 and 2007, when the team started 12-0 and earned its first berth in a BCS bowl (Sugar) behind star quarterback Colt Brennan.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, a former Hawai'i player and later assistant coach, called the 2007 season "over what anybody ever thought was possible." At Hawai'i, Jones also coached Timmy Chang, who became the NCAA's all-time passing yards leader and now serves as the program's head coach. Chang called Jones "a father figure, a mentor, and a visionary who revolutionized the game."
Jones then helped revive SMU's program, leading the Mustangs to four consecutive bowl games, the team's first postseason opportunities since receiving the "death penalty" for NCAA violations in 1987, and consecutive division championships in 2009 and 2010. An Oregon native, Jones played college football at Portland State, where he was introduced to the run-and-shoot by Mouse Davis, the scheme's innovator. Hawai'i Gov. Josh Green called him "an exceptional human being."
Source: ESPN NFL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing