Jones Says Aloha to Chargers, Takes Hawaii Job

Going from the NFL to a college team hardly follows the logical coaching progression. Then again, June Jones isn’t like other coaches.

Jones was promoted two months ago by the San Diego Chargers as interim head coach job to turn around the poor-performing team. On Thursday, he was named head coach of the Hawaii Rainbows, one of the worst teams in Division I-A.

“Unless you’ve lived in Hawaii, unless you know the people there, it’s different than anything else. It’s just a passion that I’ve had and that’s what I wanted to do,” Jones said Thursday.

Jones, 45, played quarterback at Hawaii in 1974 and began his coaching career there as quarterback coach in 1983. Jones was quarterback coach for San Diego until Kevin Gilbride got fired midseason, and General Manager Bobby Beathard made him interim coach.

He felt so sure that the Chargers would remove the interim tag at the end of the season that he went into Tuesday’s interview with Hawaii with the intention of not taking the job if it was offered to him. He changed his mind, however, and accepted an offer Wednesday.

Jones replaces Fred vonAppen, who was fired after Hawaii went 0-12. Hawaii has the longest current Division I-A losing streak at 18 games.

“His reputation for offensive success in the NFL is exceptional,” said Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida. “He is very respected in the football community and is well known for the exciting style that his teams display.”

Despite Hawaii’s woes, and the fact it was among the schools left behind when eight Western Athletic Conference teams defected, Jones said he’s excited about getting a chance to rebuild the program.

“I’m going to a place that I wanted to retire to, where I wanted to live, and I think the job for me can be a 20-year job if I get it going in the next 3-4 years,” Jones said.

It certainly wasn’t about money. Jones reportedly will make $250,000 a season, far less than what he’d get as an NFL head coach. They are negotiating the length of the contract.

Jones will finish the season with the Chargers (5-8). Among those being mentioned as replacements are offensive coordinators Gary Kubiak of Denver and Brian Billick of Minnesota--but neither can be approached until after their team’s seasons end. Beathard is known to admire UCLA’s Bob Toledo and Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez.