Thursday, July 29, 1999
WAC media
give Jones a rude
welcome
The first-year Hawaii coach
is questioned about everything from
leaving the NFL to the run-and-
shoot offense he'll useBy Paul Arnett
Jackson leaves team
Star-BulletinIRVING, Texas -- If June Jones thought it was going to be an uneventful session during today's Western Athletic Conference media meeting, he couldn't have been more wrong.
Not only was he asked what he was thinking to leave the National Football League to take on the project of rebuilding the University of Hawaii program, he also was drilled on whether the run-and-shoot is still a viable offense 25 years later.
"The thing that bothered me is the guy (Houston Chronicle reporter Neal Farmer) knew all the answers before he asked them," Jones said. "Has the University of Houston been as good since they dropped the run-and-shoot? No. I think the alumni would take the record they had back then compared to what it is now.
"When we brought this thing in to the Houston Oilers, they were in the playoffs seven years in a row and were just one play away from making the Super Bowl. Have they been to the playoffs since they stopped running this offense? No. And I don't think they're going to be back anytime soon."
Jones has heard all the criticisms before about an offense he helped popularize in the NFL. The linemen are too fat to run block. The receivers are too small to last a season. You can't score from inside the 10.
"But I'm telling you right now that the run-and-shoot principles are used by everybody in college ball today," Jones said. "Everybody tries to spread you out with four or five wide receivers. The West Coast offense uses many of the same principles of the run-and-shoot."I don't feel like I have to defend what we're going to run at Hawaii. I have a lot of confidence in this offense. We're going to be successful running it. It may take a year or two to get everything in place, but I guarantee we're going to be more successful than they have been lately."
As expected, the coaches and the media picked Hawaii to finish last in the league, something Jones understands, but doesn't necessarily agree with as he prepares the Rainbows for their season opener with Southern California.
He knows the road ahead is going to be a difficult one, especially this season. But once he gets his players in place on both sides of the football, Jones feels the Rainbows can return to their glory days.
"People in Hawaii are excited about this program," Jones said. "So much so, they think we're going to be 12-0. And that's good. We need the support of the community.
"Coaching at Hawaii is something I've wanted to do for many years. I probably wouldn't have left the NFL for any other job. But I love Hawaii. I played there, had my first college coaching job there. It's something I've always wanted to do."
Jones also conceded that despite the departure of the Mountain West teams and the stance UH president Ken Mortimer has taken that those eight schools are the enemy, Jones still wants to play a couple of teams in the future.
"I've already said I think we should keep a relationship with BYU and UNLV," Jones said. "I've talked to (UH athletic director) Hugh (Yoshida) about it. But to be honest with you, I'm more concerned with who our first three games are this season."
Hawaii opens with USC, Boise State and Eastern Illinois before beginning its WAC season on the road against SMU. Unlike past road series where the Rainbows arrived the night before, Jones is planning to have a couple of practices at SMU before playing the Mustangs.
"We've got to be mentally tougher before we're going to win on the road," Jones said. "Good football teams win away from home. I think our travel plans will be similar to what Dick Tomey and Bob Wagner did when they were here."
Hawaii's newcomers are due to arrive on Aug. 8. The veterans will report to camp on Aug. 11.
"We've got a lot of work ahead," Jones said. "But I'm looking forward to the challenges of making this a winning program again."
Hawaii outside linebacker Houdini Jackson has left the program, head coach June Jones confirmed this morning. Jackson leaves team
"He told me in April that he wanted to go home," Jones said. "I'm not sure what he wanted to do. He said to me he was thinking about quitting football."
UH offensive lineman Adrian Klemm said Jackson was transferring to Washington, but Jones couldn't confirm that.
The 22-year-old was disenchanted with the firing of UH head coach Fred vonAppen and said as much at the end of spring practice. Fighting through a variety of injuries last year, Jackson still finished with 33 tackles, including three quarterback sacks.
By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin
’Bows picked to finish last
By Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinIRVING, Texas -- Hawaii offensive lineman Adrian Klemm believes the Rainbows will shock some folks the coming season.
Not only does he believe Hawaii will snap its current 18-game losing streak, but the Rainbows will compete for the Western Athletic Conference championship as well. But he's in the minority.
Both the WAC media and coaches have the Rainbows picked to finish last in the league for a fourth consecutive season. The coaches chose Texas Christian to win the title as did the media.
"I can understand why people don't think much of us, but I look at the league is not being that tough,'" Klemm said this morning during WAC media day. "Other than USC, I think we have a good chance to win every game."
Jones, who picked TCU to win it all, feels the same way.
"I look at us as having an opportunity to be in every game and hopefully come away with some wins," Jones said. "It's not going to be easy, but our guys believe in themselves and we in them. I'm not that big of a believer in polls. You win games on the field, not in the newspaper."
TCU and SMU received three first-place votes each from the coaches. Fresno State had one. In the media poll, TCU had 13 first-place votes. Fresno State had five. The order of finish in the media poll is TCU, Fresno State, SMU, Rice, Texas-El Paso, Tulsa, San Jose State and Hawaii.
The predicted order of finish by the coaches is TCU, Fresno State, SMU, Rice, San Jose State, UTEP, Tulsa and Hawaii.
"It's an honor to be selected to win it all," TCU head coach Dennis Franchione said. "But it doesn't mean a thing if you don't succeed on the field."
TV TIME:
WAC commissioner Karl Benson announced today that the Hawaii-Tulsa game in October will be one of four regional broadcasts by the Fox Network.In addition, Fox will show three national games, including TCU-SMU and TCU-Arizona. It's possible that Fox Sports West will show the Rainbows' season opener with Southern California, but that deal has yet to be finalized.
UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida is on the mainland this week to see if the Trojans' game can be added to the seven Fox already has agreed to show. Yoshida is also hoping to land a deal with Fox to broadcast the Rainbow Classic basketball tournament.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has reported that the TCU-Hawaii or TCU-Northwestern game could be a national broadcast on ESPN. Benson has to OK the deal should ESPN settle on TCU-Hawaii, but it's unlikely he would turn down the national exposure it would bring to the conference.
"We'll have to see what develops there," Benson told the Star-Bulletin. "But Hawaii's game at Tulsa is definitely one of the seven games Fox has agreed to broadcast. In all, seven of our eight teams will receive television exposure. The only one that won't is Texas-El Paso."
LAWSUIT A POSSIBILITY:
The WAC presidents could agree as early as next week whether to pursue its lawsuit against the newly formed Mountain West Conference.Hawaii and Rice are said to be the schools that want to sue the league the most. Six of the eight league presidents must agree to the suit that could seek as much as $50 million in damages.
TCU and Fresno State apparently are against the idea. Fresno State would like to eventually join the Mountain West. It's also believed that UTEP is wavering as well, which would kill the suit. The individual schools could still seek legal action, but as UTEP head coach Charlie Bailey put it, "That could wind through the legal system for years before anything happens one way or another."
BREAK THOSE STREAKS:
The most-asked question of Klemm was, "How about those losing streaks?"I honestly don't know how many games in a row we've lost," Klemm said. "But I guarantee we're not going to lose every game this year. We have a chance to win eight or 10 games and I believe we're going to do it because we have new coach and a new system."
Hawaii has dropped 18 consecutive games overall and 24 in a row in league road games.
"We're not going to come in the night before as we've done in the past," Klemm said. "We're going to spend a couple of days getting used to the surroundings and I definitely think that's going to make a difference."
NO MORE FREE PARKING:
The UH athletic department is withdrawing its free parking promotion for Rainbow games, citing money problems.Last season, the university paid Aloha Stadium for each car load with three or more fans.
"With the financial situation of the athletic department, we're going to suspend the free parking privilege," assistant athletics director Jim Donovan said yesterday. "It may be an issue to revisit in the future if the revenue situation becomes better."
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