Fansided

June Jones returns to head coaching, in the CFL

By Brad Berreman

WACO, TX - AUGUST 31: Head coach June Jones of the Southern Methodist Mustangs during play against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium on August 31, 2014 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
WACO, TX - AUGUST 31: Head coach June Jones of the Southern Methodist Mustangs during play against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium on August 31, 2014 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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If you’ve been wondering where June Jones went on the football coaching landscape, worry no more, he has surfaced in the CFL.

When we last saw June Jones coaching high level football, he resigned from his post as head coach at SMU two games into the 2014 season. He surfaced as offensive coordinator at a high school in Hawaii in January of 2016, then early this month Jones landed as an assistant coach with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.

The Tiger-Cats are the only winless team in the league, at 0-8 and they’ve been outscored 310-148 while ranking dead-last in many offensive and defensive categories. So naturally, an offensive-minded coach like Jones is a perfect fit to take over as head coach.

Jones will replace Kent Austin, who will retain his role as vice president of football operations. Austin was quoted in the team’s press release announcing the move.

"June and I have established a great relationship, and I feel comfortable and very confident with him handling the on-field product moving forward,” “This organization, its fans and partners deserve a championship calibre team and we fully expect to work together to return us to that level."

Jones has some experience in the CFL, as he played for the Toronto Argonauts in 1982 and was an assistant coach with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1986. But he most coached in the NFL and college, before falling off the radar three years ago.

Jones’ offensive acumen is rooted in the Run-and-Shoot system, which became a thing in the NFL in the early ’90s before fading quickly. That has brought, at best, fleeting success for him as a head coach with some ups and down.

Jones had one winning season in three as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons form 1994-96, and a sideline blowup with quarterback Jeff George was the only noteworthy moment. He then went 3-7 as interim head coach of the Chargers in 1998, during Ryan Leaf’s disastrous rookie season.

Jones did find better success as head coach at Hawaii, his alma mater, from 1999-2007. A 9-4 record in his first season led to at least eight wins in seven of his nine seasons, culminating in a 12-1 mark and a Sugar Bowl berth in 2007.

Jones then went to SMU, and after a 1-11 record in his first season the Mustangs won at least seven games and a made a bowl game in four straight years. But a 5-7 record in 2013, SMU’s first season in the AAC, led to Jones leaving two games into a 2014 campaign that would yield a 1-11 record.

Next: 5 NFL teams that should sign Johnny Manziel

Jones is bringing an outdated offense and a … unique track record with him to a head coaching job in the CFL. Now all the Tiger-Cats have to do is convince Johnny Manziel to come north of the border, since they hold his CFL rights. Then things will really get interesting.

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