Report: Jones accepts SMU job

Jan 7, 2008 - 5:39 PM HONOLULU, Hawaii (Ticker) - June Jones reportedly has spurned Hawaii's final offer to keep him on the islands.

The Honolulu Advertiser reported Monday that Jones has accepted a position to be the next coach at SMU, which has been looking for a replacement since Phil Bennett was fired in October.

SMU, however, has not confirmed the hiring and has no annoucement scheduled.

On Sunday, the Advertister reported that Jones had resigned after nine years as Hawaii coach, citing a lack of loyalty and commitment from the school.

Jones' departure from Hawaii would represent a stunning split as he achieved hero status while building the Warriors' program virtually from scratch.

In 1999, Jones took over a Hawaii program that went 0-12 the previous season and won nine games in his first year.

This season, the Warriors, led by record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan, went 12-0 before getting routed by Georgia, 41-10, in the Sugar Bowl. Hawaii won its initial Western Athletic Conference title and earned its first berth in a BCS bowl game.

According to a report in the Dallas Morning News on Friday, Jones received an offer between $1.7 million and $2 million from SMU.

Jones interviewed in Dallas with SMU on Sunday but his agent, Leigh Steinberg, denied that he had accepted the position.

According to the Advertister, Hawaii countered with a five-year contract worth $1.3 million annually.

At SMU, Jones would face a rebuilding job as challenging as the one he encountered at Hawaii.

The Mustangs never have fully recovered since coming off the NCAA-imposed "death penalty" in 1989.

Over the past 18 seasons, SMU, a member of Conference USA, has posted a record of 58-153-3, including a 1-11 mark in 2007. Bennett was fired after six years at the school.

Still, Jones faced a similiar task when he took the Hawaii job in December 1998 following a 12-year coaching stint in the NFL.

He is the winningest coach in Hawaii history, posting a 76-41 record while leading the Warriors to seven winning seasons in his nine years.

In the last two seasons, Hawaii posted records of 11-3 and 12-1.