June Jones Named The Houston XFL Coach, The Field Is Set
The last head coach for the XFL has finally been announced. June Jones was named the head coach and general manager of the Houston-based XFL team.
Jones, age 66, has been around football all of his life. His playing career was from 1971 in Oregon to 1982 with the Toronto Argonauts. He starting coaching in 1983 as a QB coach for Hawaii. Jones' first taste of coaching in the NFL was from 1987-1988 when he was a QB coach for the Houston Oilers. Through the years, Jones was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons (1994-1996) and San Diego Chargers in 1998. His overall NFL record was 22-36.
"We're extremely proud to add Coach Jones, a man with four decades in football, as an XFL head coach," said XFL Commissioner & CEO Oliver Luck in a press release. "June has coached the game in three different pro leagues, including the NFL, as well as major college and high school football. The experience he's gained at every stop along the way will no doubt serve him well as he helps us reimagine the game and build our Houston team into something special."
After coaching the NFL, Jones went back to college where he manned the then Hawaii Warriors from 1999-2007. During his first and last year as coach there, he won two WAC Championships. After Hawaii, he coached SMU from 2008-2014. The two-time WAC Coach of the Year was last seen coaching for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
"I've spent a few years coaching in Houston, and having a chance to return to be a head coach in the XFL is an opportunity I couldn't pass up," said Jones. "I had a really great time coaching in the CFL, but this new fresh opportunity to build a team from the ground up is extremely rare in this game, and I'm looking forward to working with Brian Cooper and our coaches to give football fans in Houston a team that's truly exciting to watch and worthy of their support." "June Jones is one of the most accomplished and well-known football coaches, and it will be an honor to work side-by-side with him," said Cooper. "I have no doubt that his love of the game and commitment to excellence on-field will dovetail perfectly with our effort to engage Houston sports fans in new and exciting ways."
Jones' team will play inside TDECU Stadium when the XFL season starts in February of 2020. He now joins a coaching list that includes Bob Stoops (Dallas), Winston Moss (Los Angeles), Kevin Gilbride (New York), Jim Zorn (Seattle), Jonathan Hayes (St. Louis), Marc Trestman (Tampa Bay) and Pep Hamilton (Washington D.C.).