June Jones, the winningest coach in University of Hawaii football history, wants the job again. But he wants the focus to remain on the current Rainbow Warriors, and hopes they can salvage a few wins under interim coach Chris Naeole.
Jones told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a brief phone interview Tuesday that he will apply for the opening created when Norm Chow was fired Sunday.
“I don’t want to comment further at this time because the attention should stay on the team now, and hopefully Chris can lead them to some wins down the stretch,” Jones said.
The Rainbow Warriors are 2-7 and play at UNLV on Saturday. Even if they win the remaining four games they are assured a fifth consecutive losing season.
Jones, 62, a former UH and NFL quarterback, was head coach nine seasons at Manoa, seven of them ending with winning records.
Upon his arrival in 1999, Jones led Hawaii to a 9-4 record, including a win in the Oahu Bowl. UH had gone 0-12 the previous season.
His teams compiled a 76-41 mark, including a 12-0 regular season in 2007. The Jan. 1, 2008, Sugar Bowl, which Hawaii lost 41-10 to Georgia, was Jones’ last game as Hawaii coach. The Warriors went 4-2 in bowl games while Jones was coach.
He left for SMU, where his teams went 36-53 from 2008 to 2014, and he led the Mustangs to their first bowl game since the program received the NCAA “death penalty” in 1985. He resigned from SMU after starting last season 0-2, for “personal issues.”
Jones returned to Hawaii and has been working with Saint Louis School quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
