Feature story on JJ

AJC = Atlanta Journal-Constitution

About coaching in the NFL, JJ said:
"The NFL was one of the best times of my life. I'll get another opportunity to go back. But this has been a real blessing for me. I have a love for the people of Hawaii, and I'm happy that I was able to come back here and do what I can." (AJC)

About how they get their work done and have fun, JJ said:
"We get everything done, and we have fun every day." (AJC)

AJC Note: "That used to be enough for Hawaii football. Now, with the stakes so much higher, Jones no longer wonders how he and his 12-0 team have become Hawaii's newest religion. He had already overseen one of the biggest turnarounds in college history, when he took over a program that had gone 0-11 in 1998 and won nine games the following year. But this season is different. This has been his deliverance."

About the potential for UH football, JJ said:
"I knew what the potential was. It's the only game in town. We don't have that many students come to our games — probably just 500 to 1,000 students. The people who come to our games are the man in the street and the cabdrivers and the maids. This is everybody's team, which I knew would happen if we got it going. It could take over the whole state. And it has." (AJC)

AJC Note: "He left on the table an offer to coach the NFL's San Diego Chargers in 1998 when he signed on with Hawaii, where he had played quarterback (1973-74) and later coached quarterbacks (1983). He knew about UH's drawbacks: poor facilities, recruiting handicaps, a huge talent gap. He also knew of something more important: the Polynesian soul. Still preaching a run-and-shoot offense that helped mask shortcomings — the Warriors hardly run the ball — Jones also has managed to use football to tap into the islands' culture."

About how JJ understands the Hawaiian culture, HF said:
"He's meant everything to the football program, and even more to the state, because people identify with him. He understands the Hawaiian culture, and he's been able to capitalize on that." (AJC)

About the blend of cultures and backgrounds on their team, Michael Lafaele said:
"A lot of difference in culture, a lot of different backgrounds. The camaraderie and the chemistry, it's a great bond that we share. All the diversity and all our backgrounds have come together. We play for one goal." (AJC)

AJC Note: "But first, they had to get here. With a recruiting budget of $50,000 — barely a tenth of Georgia's — Jones has been creative in the recruiting game. After all, the closest city on the mainland is five hours away. Ryan Grice-Mullen was a quarterback/running back for Rialto (Calif.) High, which won one game in his final two years. But Jones tried him at receiver. Now, Grice-Mullen (100 catches for 1,335 yards), Davone Bess (101 for 1,213) and Jason Rivers (82 for 1,069) make up just the second trio in NCAA history with 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Linebacker Adam Leonard was destined for the University of California until hurting his knee. Jones found Leonard in junior college; this fall he became a finalist for the Lombardi Award, given to college football's best linebacker or lineman. In all, 20 Warriors are transfer students."

About how JJ sees things that others cannot, Adam Leonard said:
"Coach Jones does a great job of just looking past the player and what he saw on film. He sits down with the kids and sees what's on the inside of them and in their hearts, to bounce back from their situations." (AJC)

About giving second chances to a few players, JJ said:
"You have to be real careful about those second-chance kids. I haven't been 100 percent right, but I've been 90 percent right." (AJC)

AJC Note: "Jones isn't known for his charisma, and the coach who arrives in New Orleans will not preen or gush. Jones, in fact, was so unmoved in his remarks at the team's postseason banquet that some felt him too cold."

About how JJ isn't as demonstrative as other coaches, Colt said:
"He is a little bit quiet and kind of hard to get, at first. But watching him over the years, it's been fun. I've watched him grow a little bit." (AJC)

AJC Note: "Hawaiians wonder when the music might stop. Not only has Brennan graduated, but Jones' contract is up. Last week, he shot down a rumor linking him to a vacancy at UCLA. The bigger suspicion is that he will wind up back in the NFL. But first will come the biggest week Hawaii football has ever known. Jones came to Hawaii not seeking validity but found it, not needing approbation but earned it."

After going from 0-12 to 12-0 and building a program, JJ said:
"I'm very proud of what we've done." (AJC)