The coach and former quarterback led Hawaii to a perfect regular season in 2007 after building his career around the pass-heavy offense.
June Jones, the coach and quarterback best known for developing and spreading the run and shoot offense, has died at age 73. His Run and Shoot Certification coaching program announced his death on Thursday, Oct. 29.
Jones grew up in Portland and quarterbacked Portland State in 1975 and 1976 under head coach Mouse Davis, where he first ran the system that would define his career. He also played quarterback at Oregon and Hawaii before signing with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent and spending five NFL seasons mostly as a backup. He didn't put up big passing numbers in the pros, but the experience convinced him the run and shoot — an offense built around one running back and four wide receivers, something NFL teams had never used — could succeed at football's highest level.
Jones worked as an assistant at the professional level before landing his first head coaching job at Hawaii in 1999. There he oversaw the biggest single-season turnaround in NCAA history and built a record-setting offense, eventually guiding the Rainbow Warriors to a perfect regular season in 2007. He also coached at SMU.
His coaching program said his legacy was less about records and championships than the people he believed in and the opportunities he created.