June Sheldon Jones III (born February 19, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons.
He played college football with the Oregon Ducks, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Portland State Vikings.
He then spent two years in the USFL, first as the wide receivers coach for the Houston Gamblers (1984), then as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Gold (1985).
Following the demise of the USFL, Jones spent the 1986 season working as an offensive assistant for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the CFL.
Jones reunited with Glanville upon joining the Atlanta Falcons organization in 1991 as its assistant head coach.
As head coach, Jones installed the run and shoot offense he learned under Mouse Davis.
In 1995, Jones's second season as head coach, the Falcons went to the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Green Bay Packers.
[4] He also clashed with quarterback Jeff George during his final season, including a well-publicized and widely broadcast profanity-laced shouting match during a September 22 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In particular, Jones claims to have made a special effort to recruit local talent in his players and coaching staff.
[13] Jones negotiated a contract worth $800,016 during the 2004 season, which made him the highest-paid public employee in the state, even though the football team was struggling.
Frustrated with what he viewed as a lack of support from the university, Jones opted to leave Hawaii at the end of the 2007 season.
[15] In a press conference at the Hall of Champions adjacent to Gerald J. Ford Stadium on January 7, 2008, Jones was introduced as the new head football coach at Southern Methodist University.
Jones signed a five-year contract with SMU, paying him two million dollars annually, and making him the highest-paid coach in Conference USA.
[23][24] After interviewing for the vacant coaching job at Hawaii, Jones was hired as the offensive coordinator at Kapolei High School in January 2016.
On August 24, 2017, he was named interim head coach, after Kent Austin stepped down to focus on his duties as vice-president of Football Operations.
He quickly became embroiled in controversy when he attempted to get his longtime friend and former Baylor University coach Art Briles hired as an assistant.
[citation needed] As head coach, Jones led the Tiger-Cats to a respectable 6–4 record over the ten games that remained in the 2017 season.
[30] After an 8–10 season in 2018 (which included a playoff berth), Jones agreed to step aside for the highly sought-after Orlondo Steinauer to take over as head coach.
[34] As an American collegiate coach, Jones's offenses rarely run the ball, favoring a wide-open, pass-heavy offense, the run and shoot approach; however, in 2010 sophomore tailback Zach Line rushed for over 1,450 yards in 14 games, making him the 11th best rusher in the FBS.