Local paper update on the JJ to SMU situation

About how this whole situation should have been avoided, JJ's close friend Artie Wilson said:
"This whole thing didn't have to happen. We didn't have to get to this point. There was plenty of opportunity to address a contract extension and nothing was done." (HSB)

Note: For example, JJ offered to take a pay *cut* to extend his contract in 2005, but HF did not respond to the offer. In 2006, HF pledged to extend JJ's contract before it had less than a year left.

About his visit to SMU, JJ said:
"I'm going down there to meet with them, talk with them and try to make that decision." (HA)

HA Note: "Beginning at mid-morning tomorrow, Jones will meet with the SMU president, search committee, athletic director and boosters, according to Leigh Steinberg, Jones' agent. Jones also will tour the Dallas campus."

HA Note: "While SMU maneuvered to woo Jones, UH officials still had not made an offer to Jones until Thursday night. And that offer — a base salary of $1.1 million — was made in an e-mail from UH athletic director Herman Frazier to Steinberg, who is based in California. Steinberg will join Jones in Dallas."

HA Note: "Steinberg received UH's permission Dec. 24 to listen to offers from other schools. Two days later, Steinberg notified Frazier, through an e-mail, that Jones received a time-sensitive offer. Frazier was asked if UH would like to submit a proposal. UH's only offer did not come until Thursday night."

About how he was told on Tuesday (the day of the Sugar Bowl) to book a non-stop flight from Honolulu to Dallas for today, JJ said about SMU officials:
"I needed to go down and meet them and see them." (HA)

HSB Note: "One friend of Jones said he is "90 percent" convinced that he will take the offer to get away from frustrations at UH. Another person close to him said he'd place the odds at 50-to-1 that Jones would go to SMU rather than remain at Manoa."

Asked if money would be a factor in his decision, JJ said that SMU's proposal:
"is an opportunity I have to look at." (HA)

HA Note: "Jones met with UH President David McClain Thursday evening. Yesterday, he met with Frazier and then with Virginia Hinshaw, UH-Manoa chancellor."

After meeting with Hinshaw, JJ said while leaving Hawaii Hall:
"I'm not here for them to make an offer. We talked about a lot of other stuff." (HA)

Asked about reports that SMU imposed a deadline, JJ said:
"Leigh's kind of handled that whole thing. To be quite honest, we haven't discussed all of that kind of stuff." (HA)

HA Note: "Steinberg said no deadline was issued. Several schools, notably Georgia Tech, have inquired indirectly about Jones in past years. But since signing with UH in December 1998, this is the first time he will have a face-to-face interview with a prospective employer."

About their offer to JJ, UH President McClain said:
"There is indeed an offer out there and we think it's competitive. It's designed to be competitive. SMU has considerable resources and we understand that. We feel we can be competitive." (HSB)

About UH's offer, Leigh Steinberg said:
"We did (receive an offer from UH on Thursday) and analyzed it. June has been in a thought process for a number of days." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Jones and Steinberg have repeatedly said salary is not the key issue. Commitment to building new facilities and other resources are Jones' priority, Steinberg said."

About how things are not set with SMU, Steinberg said:
"I can say we've been in discussions with SMU, and that nothing is resolved with SMU." (HSB)

About his decision on going to SMU or staying at UH, JJ said:
"It's definitely a hard decision. It's a very hard decision." (HA)

HA Note: "Perhaps the only thing harder to imagine than the idea of Jones bolting Manoa for "The Hilltop" would be UH administrators waiting until Thursday night to make him a renewal offer on a contract where the last game had already been played. To wait until two days after the final game of the season to tender an offer — and then by e-mail — when you wrote the contract and knew its expiration date was fast approaching, is pretty crazy. Frankly, it would be hard to imagine at an NCAA Division I-A school.

But, then, so, too, would be taking until the 11th hour to put together the football schedule for 2007. So would be waiting until April to hire Bob Nash as the men's basketball coach when he was on campus the whole time. So would not gauging the potential interest in Bowl Championship Series tickets before deciding how many you are going to take. So, maybe, we shouldn't be surprised that Jones is scheduled to be in Dallas this weekend to discuss a job at a place that has had but one winning season in the past 20 years."

Michael Lafaele said that if JJ leaves:
"It's going to hurt the program. He's got big shoes to fill."

About JJ's possible departure from UH, Kent Untermann said:
"I think it's terrible. He was obviously fabulous for the program." (HA)

HA Note: "Eugene Price, also an organizer and former player, said Jones' decision appears to be about more than money. He said if Jones takes any outside offer, UH officials will have some explaining to do."

About JJ's possible departure from UH, Eugene Price said:
"I don't think it will be very good for the team." (HA)

About the money raised to pay HF to go away, Kent Untermann said:
"All we need is a trigger man." (HSB)

"The money's already there. Someone just has to pull the trigger. There's a gentleman, who I won't name, who has volunteered to pay the $120,000 buyout. He would make sure it happens." (HSB)

HSB Note: "It is not that simple. University of Hawaii-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw and the UH Board of Regents would have to endorse such a move. Hinshaw has only been at her post a few months, and the Board of Regents has always given Frazier high marks. But Frazier's popularity with UH fans is low, especially since many feel he should have made sure football coach June Jones' contract was renewed last year. Now Jones might be headed to another school: SMU."

UH President David McClain said that removing HF is:
"hardly anything I've contemplated." (HSB)

"The structure is that we have a small number of positions that involve oversight and approval (by the board)." (HSB)

Chancellor Hinshaw addressed the potential buyout:
"Personnel issues are dealt with by the university, and not in this manner." (HSB)

About how removing HF is part of the effort to keep JJ, Untermann said:
"I don't think with June it's ever a done deal until it's done. He's an emotional guy. He came here on emotion. I think he's fed up and disappointed. We have to take swift action, which hasn't been demonstrated at all. June will never say we have to replace the athletic director." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Untermann said he believes Jones wants three things to remain at UH: a $25 million commitment to facility improvement, a promise of effective leadership and more loyalty from the fan base."

About the things that JJ wants, Untermann said:
"Part of that ties into administration and scheduling and marketing. I don't blame it on the fans. The leadership hasn't been there, and June has obviously done his part." (HSB)

Asked if there is anything that can be done to keep JJ at UH, Untermann said:
"It might be too late." (HSB)