Now that he’s officially in the running, June Jones should be hired as the next University of Hawaii head football coach, ASAP.
One of the most important reasons is he has the support of business people and other power brokers with money, services and influence to help UH. Generally, they prefer to do that when they feel the football team is being run by the right guy, and a lot of them still see Jones as that guy.
But given the nature of many of the complaints that led to the resignation of Todd Graham last Friday, it’s even more important to consider the thoughts of UH players past and present, including the only one I know of to be coached by both Graham and Jones.
His name is Leonard Lee. If it rings a bell, it’s either because there must be at least 10 people on this island with that name, or you heard and saw this Leonard Lee testify at the state Senate information briefing on Jan. 7.
Lee was a walk-on defensive back who transferred to UH in 2019 after two years at Pima Community College in Arizona. He was on the scout team when the Warriors went 10-5 in Nick Rolovich’s last season, helping guys like Cedric Byrd and JoJo Ward prepare for each week’s game. He said he felt his efforts were appreciated.
Not so much in ’20 and ’21, though, with Graham as the coach.
“The worst guy I’ve ever met in my life,” Lee said during the Senate briefing.
What was it like being coached by Jones?
“Not a bit of arrogance,” Lee said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “Treated everyone with respect and taught us all a lot.”
Where is this coming from? How the heck was Lee mentored by Jones, who hasn’t been on a college coaching staff since 2014?
It wasn’t a clinic or anything like that. Jones was actually Lee’s position coach at Kapolei High School in 2016.
Lee was an All-State safety. But he was also the Hurricanes’ second-string quarterback. Jones was volunteering at Kapolei as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the time.
“I had to go in the first game because Taulia (Tagovailoa) got hurt. Then there were games I went in for rubbish time to throw a few picks,” Lee deadpanned.
Unlike some volunteer coaches, Jones was consistent and dedicated, Lee said. He made the 50-mile round trip from his home on the other side of the island every day. Always on time, like any other good high school coach … except this one also happened to be a national coach of the year after orchestrating what was then the greatest turnaround in college football history, at UH in 1999.
“He’s a calming influence, he doesn’t raise his voice,” Kapolei head coach Darren Hernandez told Hawaii News Now that year. “His words have a lot of meaning, so the kids, and the coaches, frankly, everyone listens to what he has to say …”
That’s exactly what the UH locker room needs now.
There’s been a lot of talk about Timmy Chang getting the Warriors head coaching job. There might be a time for that in the future, but not now. Although the former UH quarterback great (who was coached by Jones) knows the lay of the land, going from position coach without coordinator experience is way too much of a jump.
Chang is among many of Jones’ former UH players who are now in coaching and eager to help their alma mater in a time of need. There are so many who want to get on board it’s hard to keep track; the most recent I’ve heard about is Chris Brown, the fierce Warriors linebacker who is now a terrific high school coach in Las Vegas. Recruiting pipeline from Bishop Gorman? Yes, please!
Jones, 68, won’t be there forever. After a couple of years of him re-installing the new and improved run-and-shoot and otherwise stabilizing the ship it would be a protege’s turn.
The question for some young coaches now is if they can afford to work at Manoa and live in Hawaii.
That isn’t a problem for Jones, who once volunteered to coach the Warriors for free. There’s probably some state rule against that, but they can’t tell him what to do with his salary, right?
Most of Jones’ detractors won’t see the logic in any of this, because they’ve already decided, long ago. They’re dead-set against him for all kinds of reasons and rumors, real and imagined.
I get it about feeling jilted when he left for SMU out of frustration right after UH’s only appearance in a New Year’s bowl game in ’08. It’s undeniable, though, that he left the program much better off than it was when he arrived.
Not all of the general public and not every UH fan will rally around Jones. Not every top local prospect will be convinced to stay home, at least right away.
But enough talented coaches — some who were part of the magic themselves, coached by Jones — would join forces behind him to give it another go. And we know he can win over players … the kind on the field and the kind in the corner offices downtown.
He might even have enough juice to get a full-sized stadium built.
