June Jones, who coached the XFL's Houston Roughnecks to a 5-0 record in 2020 and spent 40 years running the run-and-shoot offense in college, the NFL, the CFL and spring football, died Thursday, Oct. 29, in Oregon. He was 73. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Jones entered hospice care about two weeks before his death.
The University of Hawai'i confirmed the death. Former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme told The Athletic that doctors found a tumor while treating Jones for back pain earlier this month.
Hawai'i called Jones "a leader, coach, mentor and innovator who helped bring Hawai'i Football to unprecedented heights."
Houston Roughnecks: 5-0 in the 2020 XFL
The XFL hired Jones in May 2019 as head coach and general manager of its Houston franchise. He left his job with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats to take it.
Houston won all five games it played in 2020:
Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Feb. 8 | LA Wildcats | W 37-17 |
2 | Feb. 15 | St. Louis BattleHawks | W 28-24 |
3 | Feb. 22 | at Tampa Bay Vipers | W 34-27 |
4 | Mar. 1 | at Dallas Renegades | W 27-20 |
5 | Mar. 7 | Seattle Dragons | W 32-23 |
The Roughnecks scored 158 points and allowed 111. That is 31.6 points per game on offense and 22.2 on defense. Houston sat first in the XFL West when the league stopped play.
Quarterback P.J. Walker led the league with 1,338 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes. He threw four interceptions. Receiver Cam Phillips caught nine touchdown passes and had 455 receiving yards.
The XFL suspended the season in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Week 6 game at the New York Guardians was never played. The league shut down operations on April 10, 2020, and filed for bankruptcy that month.
Walker signed a two-year deal with the Carolina Panthers in late March 2020, days after the season ended.
Jones wanted to return when Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital bought the league. "If I'm offered the chance to go back, I definitely will," Jones told Fox News in March 2021. "I think it's a preferable platform for the U.S. players to come to the XFL versus going to the CFL."
Seattle Sea Dragons: His Last Job in Football
Jones did not get a head coaching job in the relaunched XFL. Head coach Jim Haslett hired him as offensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons for the 2023 season.
Seattle went 7-3 and made the playoffs for the first time. The Sea Dragons lost the North Division title game to the DC Defenders, 37-21. Quarterback Ben DiNucci threw for 2,671 yards and 20 touchdowns in Jones' offense.
Jones resigned on July 1, 2023. The XFL and USFL merged into the UFL on Dec. 31, 2023. Seattle was left out of the new league. The Houston Roughnecks name moved into the UFL.
Spring Football Roots: USFL and The Spring League
Jones' ties to spring football go back to the 1980s. He coached wide receivers for the USFL's Houston Gamblers in 1984. He served as offensive coordinator of the USFL's Denver Gold in 1985.
"When he was coaching in the USFL and then NFL in the '80s, nobody was throwing the football like that," Mumme told The Athletic. "He was a pioneer."
In 2020, Jones also worked as offensive coordinator for the Conquerors of The Spring League.
College Career: Hawai'i and SMU
Jones played quarterback at Oregon, Hawai'i and Portland State. At Portland State, offensive coordinator Mouse Davis taught him the run-and-shoot. Jones threw for 5,798 yards and 50 touchdowns there over the 1975 and 1976 seasons.
Hawai'i hired Jones as head coach in 1999. He went 76-41 over nine seasons and is the winningest coach in program history. His teams won WAC titles in 1999 and 2007. He won WAC Coach of the Year three times.
The 2007 team went 12-0 in the regular season with quarterback Colt Brennan. Hawai'i lost to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, the program's first BCS bowl. Jones also coached quarterback Timmy Chang, who set the NCAA career passing yards record. Chang is now the Hawai'i head coach.
"I know a lot of people around our football community that he really impacted, just with his words, his kindness, his love," Chang said.
Jones left for SMU in January 2008. He went 36-43 in six-plus seasons. SMU won Conference USA West titles in 2009 and 2010. The Mustangs played in four straight bowl games, their first bowl trips since the NCAA shut the program down in 1987. Jones resigned two games into the 2014 season.
NFL Career: Falcons and Chargers
Jones went undrafted and signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 1977. He played in 17 games through 1981 and made five starts. He threw for 923 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He played his final season with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts in 1982.
He coached quarterbacks for the Houston Oilers in 1987 and 1988 and for the Detroit Lions in 1989 and 1990. He returned to Atlanta as offensive coordinator in 1991.
Jones served as Falcons head coach from 1994 to 1996. He went 19-29. The 1995 team finished 9-7 and lost to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round. Atlanta fired him after a 3-13 season in 1996.
The Falcons called Jones "a visionary in the passing game."
In 1998, Jones took over as interim head coach of the San Diego Chargers for the final 10 games. The team went 3-7 under him.
CFL Career: Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Jones joined Hamilton as offensive coordinator in 2017. Head coach Kent Austin stepped down after an 0-8 start, and Jones took over. The Tiger-Cats went 6-4 the rest of the way.
Hamilton named him head coach for 2018. The team went 8-10, beat the BC Lions in the East Semi-Final and lost the East Final to the Ottawa Redblacks. His CFL record was 14-14.
"His belief in his players and commitment to helping them succeed left a lasting impression on those who worked alongside him," the Tiger-Cats said in a statement.
Career Head Coaching Record
Team | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
Atlanta Falcons (NFL) | 1994-96 | 19-29 |
San Diego Chargers (NFL, interim) | 1998 | 3-7 |
Hawai'i | 1999-2007 | 76-41 |
SMU | 2008-14 | 36-43 |
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) | 2017-18 | 14-14 |
Houston Roughnecks (XFL) | 2020 | 5-0 |