Longtime football coach Jones, pioneer of run-and-shoot offense, dies at 73

Longtime football coach June Jones, pioneer of run-and-shoot offense, dies at 73

• Adam RittenbergOct 29, 2026, 03:47 PM ET

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  College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Longtime college and pro football coach June Jones, who helped popularize the run-and-shoot offense, has died at 73.

The University of Hawai'i confirmed the death of Jones, who played quarterback for the Rainbow Warriors and later served as an assistant and head coach from 1999 to 2007.

Jones was the Atlanta Falcons' coach from 1994 to 1996 and also led teams at SMU, the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the XFL's Houston Roughnecks. He was the Chargers' interim coach for 10 games in 1998.

Jones turned down the chance to remain Chargers coach and returned to Hawai'i, where he became the school's all-time winningest coach with a 76-41 record. He guided Hawai'i to conference titles in 1999 and 2007, when the team started 12-0 and earned its first berth in a BCS bowl (Sugar) behind star quarterback Colt Brennan.

At Hawai'i, Jones also coached Timmy Chang, who became the NCAA's all-time passing yards leader and now serves as the program's head coach.

Jones then helped revive SMU's program, leading the Mustangs to four consecutive bowl games, the team's first postseason opportunities since receiving the "death penalty" for NCAA violations in 1987, and consecutive division championships in 2009 and 2010.

An Oregon native, Jones finished his college career with Portland State, where he was introduced to the run-and-shoot by Mouse Davis, the scheme's innovator. Jones played five seasons for the Falcons and one in the CFL before beginning his coaching career at Hawai'i, overseeing quarterbacks in 1983.

He coached in the USFL and CFL before landing his first NFL job coaching the Houston Oilers' quarterbacks in 1987. Jones later served as Falcons offensive coordinator before taking over as head coach following the 1993 season.