You can't understate how much Coach Jones and the Warriors mean to the state of Hawai'i. They are really the only game in town and they are so loved and supported there. The AD at UH needs to be feeling the heat now that he has allowed Coach Jones to leave. This move is his doing by consistently denying requests that Coach Jones made over the years to improve the facilities to really make the Warriors a contender every year.

What a pity. Mahalo and Aloha Coach Jones.
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Jimmy,
It's a shame because it didn't have to be this way. As I understand it, he took a lot less money to go to Hawaii nine years ago and from what I can tell if the university had responded to his concerns over the years in terms of facilities, SMU would never have had a chance.
-- Bill O.

Hawaii is a bit slow. They should have been all over rehiring June Jones during the regular season. You never know what you've had until it's gone. I just don't get it, at least one person should have been screaming re-sign him since day 1 of the regular season. SMU sucks and hopefully June Jones can work his miracle again. I really think his heart miracle was made in Hawaii and will break in Texas.
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He will be dealing with a differenent environment, that's for sure.
-- Bill O.

Hawaii's loss is SMU's gain.

Aloha and Good Luck Coach, thanks for the memories.

God Bless and God Speed

Sorry to see him go.
As a tax payer in the State of Hawaii I view this whole process as a waste of my vested tax dollars for the past 9 years a waste. UH athletic director needs to go. Not only did he not get us the required football games this past year, he lost 2 other head coaches. Mr. Frazier is 100% responsible for us losing the best thing that we have had going at UH and in the state. This will have long term effects even greater than our Sugar Bowl lost to Georgia. We "kamaaina's" or locals of the state of Hawaii wish coach Jones the best and will always hold him high regard here in the Aloha State. I think when we build our new stadium it should be called the June Jones Aloha Stadium.

Mahalo for the great seasons!!!

Bruddah Mark

Comments like these show why Hawaii and its fans are different, and I would say better than most. They are congratulating Jones and wishing him well. I hope Hawaii is able to make something positive come out this.
Improve their facilities, get another coach like Jones. The people clearly are behind their Warriors.
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Mark,
Excellent point ... as a sports writer who has worked on the East Coast an entire career and has only been a tourist in Hawaii, I have also been taken by the warmth that every commenter had shown toward June Jones. It really is a reflection of the state.
-- Bill O.

Herman Frazier needs to be fired IMMEDIATELY. The entire state was on him to get June's contract extension resolved BEFORE the season even started, and he kept pushing it off, saying "it's being drafted as we speak" or "i won't negotiate June's contract in the media" etc.

The 11th hour offer by Hawaii wasn't from Herman Frazier, it was from school President David McClain, because June does not want to deal with Frazier in any capacity and will only listen to offers if they come from someone other than Frazier.

Frazier is a scumbag, a conman, a liar, and an inept, unethical, and lazy good for nothing low life. If he isn't fired immediately, then there will be riots and protests in Honolulu, you can count on that.
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Holy moley, I was just commenting on how warm Hawaii fans were regarding June Jones as they wished him a fond farewell. I guess that doesan't extend to Herman Frazier. Obviously, the tone of my posts have been critical of the way Jones' contract has been handled but I'm certainly hopeful that rioting isn't part of the protest.
-- Bill O.

See what happens when you do things on "Hawaiian Time"!!!!!! Sorry coach Jones good luck at SMU!!

hahaha Hawaiian fans are classless. They don't know how 2 take care of a coach and can't finish a perfect season.
Go Boise State were gonna whoop up on them next year

Was surprised to see such mention of Coach Jones' departure in Baltimore (in this blog as well at Roch's blog). As a UH fan and alum, I am truly bummed about this and agree that Herman Frazier is an idiot that needs to be fired. Our new coach will need to recruit a few Tight Ends as June Jones never had any use for one.

I just finished viewing the live SMU telecast of June Jone's acceptance and it is a sad day for Hawaii and the University. Thank you, June Jones for all that you have done and I wish you well!

BEING FROM THE STATE OF HAWAII, I BELIEVE I EXPRESS LOTS OF OPINIONS THAT FRAZIER SHOULD BE FIRED.

UH has only itself to blame. How long has June Jones been at Hawaii? 9 years and they only got soap in the showers this year. Coach Jones has done a great job on a shoe-string budget. He deserves better and now he'll get it. Typical ... mentality...expect people to bust their ass and pay them peanuts.

Aloha and Mahalo to JJ. Good luck at SMU. Work your miracles again! We love JJ for what he did for our boys, UH Football, and our State. JJ will be missed by us.

What the mainland should understand is that we don't blame JJ for getting frustrated with broken promises, and looking for a fresh start. We blame Herman Fraizer for the broken promises and giving JJ a reason to leave. Money was not the issue but commitment to UH Footbal. We got "clipped" by our own AD. It did not have to be this way.

We are very sad to see Coach Jones go. But we support his move wholehartedly. In the last 3 years of his requesting inprovements for UH football program the only thing that they got from Herman Frazier is "SOAP" thats right soap is all he gave them. Mr Frazier needs to go and the FASTER the better. Coach Jones We Love ya and God Bless you for what you did for the state(Hawaii). The football team is toast now and the Biggest losers are the remaining Team. Talk about a chicken with his head cut off. Oh so Sad...
Aloha Nui Loa Coach for all the things you and your foundation has done for the Childern of Hawaii..

Aloha June and have fun on your Harley. Please come to Hawaii to play golf and not to recruit our best players. You will be the poorest in the room there as they are rich and will want you to play their rich sons. To get a good team you will have to say no to many alumni and have it your way. We will want to know the 19 items that are on your list for improvement. We love you man.

As a Georgia fan , my heart goes out to the great people of Hawaii. Keep your head up and dont stop supporting your team.

I just don't get it! Precisely what Mr Frazier has just uttered to himself as he sits on his koa wood desk scratching his head. He has let down not only the UH Football program, but it's students, fans, and the entire State of Hawaii. All those children I witnessed throughout the season and at the Sugar Bowl so proud to cheer, so proud to wear thier green/black replicas of their hero. How could something soooo great go sooo bad - negligence and procrastination. Let it be a lesson to all - be selfless. Good Luck COACH JUNE JONES - NO WORRY UH Football WE'RE STILL BEHIND YOU ALL!!!!

I AM VERY SADDENED AND DISAPPOINTED IN COACH JONES. HE PROMISED THOSE PLAYERS THAT HE WOULD NOT LEAVE THEM. MY HEART REALLY HURTS FOR THOSE PLAYERS. YOU COULD SEE THEY PUT HEART AND SOUL INTO THE SUGAR BOWL BUT THEY WERE OUTMATCHED. THAT COULD ALL BE CHANGED WITH JUST A FEW MORE YEARS OF REALLY GOOD COACHING. I AGREE THAT UH NEEDS TO UP THE ANTI ON RECRUITING EXPENSES, ITS PATHETIC. BUT AS FOR WHAT THEY HAVE OFFERED HIM TO STAY ON, SO ITS A HALF MILLION DOLLARS DIFFERENCE. I AM FROM HI. AND I KNOW HE WOULD LIVE VERY WELL ON THEIR SALARY. NOT TO MENTION IN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND LOVING PLACE IN THE WORLD. HE'S A SELL OUT AND MAYBE NEXT YEAR HE COULD HAVE TAKEN THAT TEAM STEPS FURTHER AND EVERY YEAR UNTIL HAWAII HAD A FOOTBALL TEAM THAT COULD CONTEND WITH ANY OTHER COLLEGE TEAM. I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT THE HONOR OF ESTABLISHING SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE IN OUR STATE WOULD MEAN SOMETHING TO HIM. I AM SORRY BUT I CANNOT SEND HIM AWAY WITH MY ALOHA. MONEY RULES AND IT JUST TOO BAD.
SHERRY L. WYATT

What is the climate for football like at SMU in the post death penalty era. It's been a generation since the school's powerhouse days that were fueled by a corrupted system.

Is there still alumni/booster pressure on the program to win, or is football just an afterthought these days?

The situation is simply inexcusable. Coach Jones should have had his new contract secured before the 2007 season began. His requests for improvements in the athletic facilities should have been addressed immediately at the time the requests were made. Remember Colt's plea in the newspaper for bath soap. How deplorable!!!

Herman Frazier needs to resign immediately. If there are others in addition to Frazier that failed to followup they should go as well. Hawaii is so often poorly managed, but this takes the cake.

This is such a huge loss to Hawaii.

How shame!!!

Jeane

Loosing coach JJ was NOT a good news for us student at Manoa. We (blame) this on our atheletic director HERMAN FRAZIER!! We love June Jones alot in our Aloha State...its sad that without June Jones no more Hawaii football team for the next decades. Thank you!! June jones for the job well done in Hawaii. Hopefully you will do the same in SMU school. Mahalo and aloha to you our lost friend.

This is absolutely inexcuseable. Frazier needs to go like yesterday. After watching this team grow and finally reach a point of excellence, its alarming that the AD somehow botches this as well. With the influx of new dollars coming in as a result of the Sugar Bowl that JUNE and the boys brought us, how is it possible that improvements to the facilities have to be negotiated? It should be a no brainer. FRAZIER, PLEASE LEAVE!! June, good luck at SMU...I wish you nothing but the best!!!

This is starting to look like a very bad year for UH Football. Not only did we lose the biggest game to start the year, thanks to Frazier we lose our coach. Its one thing to win games but to do so and get an entire state to follow UH football... thats something special. Thank you Coach Jones

Being a UH graduate and die hard Warrior fan I must say one thing to the Hawaii Athletic Dept. "BETTER FACILITIES!!!" I cannot stress that enough. Coach Jones' departure is a tough loss for Hawaii. Sad to see him go. We should try to get Norm Chow to replace him. Then get rid of Frazier, he's been dragging us down for years.

Mahalo Coach Jones! A hui hou!!!

Remember Warrior fans. This game is not won by the head coach, you must give his assistants a lot of credit, his players credit, the athletic dept credit and most of all you the fans. Remember this is a game won as a team and for this program to succeed in the future they must find a way to keep positive atmosphere. I have coached at many different levels and this is no different. Aloha

Well as always Hawaii with the REACTIVE government. We can never be the PROACTIVE one. We always wait till we're up against the wall before we react. We should have been proactive and gotten rid of Herman Frazier when he screwed up the hiring of Bob Nash. NO We should have gotten rid of Herman Frazier when he screwed up the Football schedule NO We should have gotten rid of Herman Frazier when he screwed up the ticket sales NO We now get rid of Herman Frazier when we lose the best thing this state had. I don't think It's only Herman Frazier's fault but everyone involved the UH President, The Chancellor, The Govenmor and the legislator. Because of our red tape the 2008 season is shot and so is the 2009. The millions of dollars we will lose over the next 5 years is unthinkable verses the 7 million plus the improvements to the facilities we should have been proactive with years ago. Just imagine all of the upset fans that bought season tickets for the 2008 season. This is why we will never move to the next level. The attitude and thinking of the whole state must change before we even think of trying to move up.

Indeed this is very bad for UH football.... Good luck next year Warriors.... SMU fan....

Frazier was to blame for many screw-ups as stated above - Period! However, we must be careful of those who were his accomplices. He leaving was only the beginning of UH's road to recovery, there are a few other Ama crabs on the bottom of the bucket and you know who you are! Think about the students and the people who really care and JUST LEAVE QUIETLY, or stick around and embarrass yourself and your family.

As for those who bought 2008 season tickets like myself - no who who and be a fair weather fan. The players and coaches of the entire UH athletic programs need our support NOW more than ever. Three words I’ve seen all over our country “Support Our Troops” needs to be written for our UH athletes - sons, brothers, daughters, sisters, nephews, nieces,… “SUPPORT OUR WARRIORS.” Remember what they showed us before every game“E No Toa, E No Toa E” This is Battle WE MUST REPOND!

Wow I feel like wearing my pads and hitting the field myself, put my pop warner pads of the 70’s no fit no moa - i get teary eyes already.

Thanks Coach Jones for doing a great job in Hawaii. I wish you good luck at SMU. I just hope the team, fans, and the school can remember what you have instilled in all of us these past years. The warrior fans just need to have faith and believe that things happen for a reason.

I'm finally coming to terms that JJ is gone, however, won't someone puh-leez list the 19 Points of Concern that JJ kept requesting that were ignored and/or rejected? These 19 Points played a big part in his decision to leave and I am sure all Hawaii would like to know what they were and why they were so "impossible" for McClain, Hinshaw, Board of Regents and Frazier to acknowlege and solve. Please get printed in the Advertiser or Star Bulletin. Mahalo.