2008 Woodie Awards
Jones has 72 hours says SMU
Source says SMU wants to avoid another Paul Johnson situation
Mark Norris, Editor in Chief, mnorris@smu.edu
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: News
72 hours. That's how long SMU is willing to wait for Hawaii coach June Jones to make a decision on whether he wants to come to the Hilltop according to a source involved with the search for SMU.
SMU set the timeline Wednesday morning to avoid a situation similar to what happened with now-Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson. SMU allowed him time to consider the job after bringing him to Dallas and Johnson immediately went back to Georgia Tech for a second interview and wound up taking the job as the Yellow Jackets head coach.
The Honolulu Advertiser reported in Wednesday's editions that Jones and his agent Leigh Steinberg are going back to Hawaii for a week to mull over openings from a college team and an NFL team. Jones told the paper he hadn't considered any of the opportunities yet.
The University of Hawaii has not made any proposals for a new contract for Jones. His current one expires June 30, but Steinberg told the Advertiser that the contract has essentially ended.
SMU has not directly contacted Jones during the search process, instead working through back channels because of Hawaii's trip to the Sugar Bowl.
SMU still has $10-$12 million to offer a new head coach and his staff. ESPN reported Wednesday morning that SMU is offering between $1.5 and $1.7 million per year to Jones, an amount that would fit within that range.
Story posted at 12:58 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2.
SMU set the timeline Wednesday morning to avoid a situation similar to what happened with now-Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson. SMU allowed him time to consider the job after bringing him to Dallas and Johnson immediately went back to Georgia Tech for a second interview and wound up taking the job as the Yellow Jackets head coach.
The Honolulu Advertiser reported in Wednesday's editions that Jones and his agent Leigh Steinberg are going back to Hawaii for a week to mull over openings from a college team and an NFL team. Jones told the paper he hadn't considered any of the opportunities yet.
The University of Hawaii has not made any proposals for a new contract for Jones. His current one expires June 30, but Steinberg told the Advertiser that the contract has essentially ended.
SMU has not directly contacted Jones during the search process, instead working through back channels because of Hawaii's trip to the Sugar Bowl.
SMU still has $10-$12 million to offer a new head coach and his staff. ESPN reported Wednesday morning that SMU is offering between $1.5 and $1.7 million per year to Jones, an amount that would fit within that range.
Story posted at 12:58 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 9
Stephanie Garrison
posted 1/03/08 @ 3:43 PM CST
Why do we 1) give so much money to a head coach and not to the professors who educate our students, which is what college is for right?
and 2)care if we get a big name coach anyway? I mean, Yes, I've heard how texas is all about football, but some people just don't care. (Continued…)
Daniel Bland
posted 1/04/08 @ 11:17 AM CST
Then why are you even reading this article?
Harrison Kaufman
posted 1/04/08 @ 11:33 AM CST
Hiring a "big name" coach is a crucial step in putting SMU's name back on the map. For the past twenty years, SMU has been "the team who received the death penalty," and being a student I am growing tired of being referred to that name. (Continued…)
KayTee
posted 1/04/08 @ 2:29 PM CST
Right or wrong, athletics are the most prominent form of advertising for a university, making it an imperitive decision to get a coach that bring a dragging team back up to par. (Continued…)
Gary
posted 1/05/08 @ 9:48 PM CST
Seriously, people who are going to whine about giving our next coach a decent amount of money need to step back and think about the huge endowment SMU has, and be thankful for the academic donations we have received. (Continued…)
Jose
posted 1/05/08 @ 11:58 PM CST
As I'm reading the different comments about winning and establishing a tradition; I think this is hilarious considering one of the few programs at SMU with a national caliber team was cut. (Continued…)
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