June Jones, architect of Hawaii's football renaissance, dies at 73

June Jones, the offensive innovator who transformed college football with his high-tempo passing schemes, died on Thursday. He was 73. Jones is best known for implementing the run-and-shoot offense at the University of Hawaii, a system that defined the program's most successful era and brought national attention to the islands.

Hawaii's football program issued a statement confirming the death but did not specify a cause. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that a close family friend said Jones entered hospice care two weeks ago in Oregon, his birthplace. His coaching career began in the 1980s when he worked as an assistant under Jerry Glanville with the Houston Oilers. In 1991, he joined Glanville with the Atlanta Falcons and assumed head coaching duties after Glanville was dismissed.

Jones spent three seasons with the Falcons, leading the team to a single playoff appearance with quarterback Jeff George. The offense relied on four receivers running fluid routes, a strategy that often left defenses exposed. When Jones was fired in 1994, he briefly served as an interim coach for the San Diego Chargers before returning to college football. He took the Hawaii head coaching job in 1999, inheriting a team that had finished the previous season with a 0-12 record.

Under Jones, the Warriors achieved a 9-4 record in 1999 and reached the Oahu Bowl. His most prominent campaign occurred in 2007, when quarterback Colt Brennan led the team to a 12-0 regular-season record. That performance secured a spot in the Bowl Championship Series, the predecessor to the current playoff format. Hawaii lost to Georgia 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Over nine seasons in Honolulu, Jones compiled a 76-41 record, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach.

After leaving Hawaii, Jones coached at SMU from 2008 to 2014, posting a 36-43 record. Timmy Chang, the current Hawaii head coach, played under Jones and set an NCAA career passing yardage record that has since been broken. Chang described Jones as a mentor and a visionary who gave him the opportunity to run the offense. "He believed in a young kid from Hawaii," Chang said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green paid tribute to Jones, calling him an exceptional human being and a motivator of young people. Green noted that Jones won big moments that placed the state in the national spotlight. The Falcons also released a statement calling Jones a visionary in the passing game.