It’s been a hot topic of pau hana discussion from Waialae to Waianae for years now … almost since he left seven years ago.

But now that June Jones has resigned from SMU the speculation that he will return to the University of Hawaii, where he worked miracles with the football program as head coach, is rampant.

There’s even supposedly a pile of money built up by friends to help get Jones back to the helm at UH, where Norm Chow has less than three years remaining on his contract and a 4-22 won-lost record.

In the fantasy world of some, Jones reappears at Manoa immediately, reinstalls the run-and-shoot and the Warriors (no more Rainbows, of course) win the rest of their games forever and ever and ever.

The real world doesn’t work that way.

It is true that if Chow doesn’t start winning soon he will be gone. But he should get the rest of this season to show if the team he has assembled can win at least half its games in the Mountain West. If it does, he’s on the right track.

In any case we need to know what really caused Jones to leave SMU two blowout losses into the season before he can even be considered as a candidate for his old job. He just agreed to a threeyear extension after last season.

It might be that Jones just needs a break to reenergize. But then what?
I’m told he was frustrated at SMU because NCAA-qualified recruits were not admitted to SMU. It is an academically selective institution, but many top schools lower standards for good players.

How much different would that be here? Let’s not forget why Jones said he left after the 12-1 Sugar Bowl season.

Crumbling facilities. Subpar financial support.

What has changed? If anything, the situation is worse, right?

Recruiting is still an uphill battle. Chow and his staff have done a good job of getting some of the talented local players, but the really big fish still slip away.

What of Jones’ great equalizer, the run-and-shoot offense?

With so many other programs now using spread offenses — including many with top-notch talent — the four-wide isn’t so exotic and foreign to defensive coordinators. If it’s run as efficiently as UH did in 2006 and 2007 it’s still hard to stop. But that would take some time to build.

Jones is a proven coach, especially as a fixer-upper, a savant as a play-caller and in unorthodox talent assessment; where others see a basketball forward, Jones sees an NFL-quality defensive lineman (i.e., Ikaika Alama-Francis).

He did a fine job of rebuilding a once-proud program at SMU. But, as at UH, longterm solutions go beyond hiring a good coach.

I’m among those who believe Jones’ heart has always remained in Hawaii. Whether that means he should be the UH coach again someday is up for debate. And some say never, because of the abrupt manner in which he left.

But many wistfully wonder if he has another miracle in him.