SMU hires former Hawaii coach Jones

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January 8, 2008


After months of wait, Southern Methodist finally landed itself a head football coach, and a high profile one at that.

SMU introduced ex-Hawai'i coach June Jones as the Mustangs' new mentor Monday at a press conference. Present at Jones' formal introduction were school president R. Gerald Turner and athletic director Steve Orsini.

"The commitment made by this University, the groundwork laid by my predecessors, the facilities - everything we need to be successful is here," Jones said. "When I met with President Turner and (director of athletics) Steve Orsini and the rest of the search committee, I saw the commitment from all of them to get back to the highest level of competition. If everyone's not on the same page, you're beat before you kick off. It's clear that everyone at SMU is on the same page. Everyone has that hunger."

Prior to his meeting with SMU officials Sunday morning, Jones has reportedly sent letters to friends announcing his intention to step down as the Warriors' coach. It was also said to include reasons why he chose not to return with UH which include issues the athletic department had failed to address.

Hawaii made a late move to convince Jones to stay, which all went to naught as the 55-year old coach finally made his decision up on inheriting a "perennial doormat" program over maintaining Hawaii's league-leading status minus Heisman runner-up Colt Brennan.

"The only way is up, and I am good at going up," Jones, who has reportedly signed a five year deal worth almost $2 million annually, said at the news conference.

Jones, who just this year led Hawaii to its first ever Bowl Championship Series game in the Sugar Bowl and a 12-1 finish overall, is 76-41 in nine seasons at Hawaii. He has a postseason record of 4-2 with two first place finishes in the Western Athletic Conference.

Southern Methodist has been coachless since October 28 after firing Phil Bennett who had led the Mustangs to a 1-11 record this season. The Mustangs have yet to appear in a bowl game since 1984.


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