{
  "id": 17120743,
  "title": "June Jones, Former Hawaii and SMU Head Coach, Dies at 73",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/june-jones-former-hawaii-and-smu-head-coach-dies-at-73",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-29T20:53:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/sports/nfl/june-jones-former-hawaii-and-smu-head-coach-dies-at-73-12638371"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "June Jones, a former college and NFL head coach who coached at Hawaii and SMU, passed away at the age of 73 on Thursday, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. A family friend revealed that Jones had been battling health issues this year and had entered hospice care two weeks prior. Jones led the Hawaii Warriors to a 76-41 record over his nine seasons with the team from 1999 to 2007, including a 12-0 regular season and a loss to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in 2007. After leaving Hawaii, Jones became the head coach at SMU in 2008, where he compiled a 36-43 record and led the team to four consecutive bowl appearances. Jones also had a stint as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1994 to 1996, during which the team posted a 19-29 record and reached the playoffs in 1995 with a 9-7 record before losing to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round. Born in Portland, Oregon on February 19, 1953, Jones attended Grant High School in Portland before playing college football at Oregon, Hawaii, and Portland State. He played professionally in the NFL for the Falcons and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, and later coached at various levels, including at Hawaii, the United States Football League's Houston Gamblers, the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders, the Houston Oilers, the Detroit Lions, the Falcons again, the San Diego Chargers, Kapolei High School, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the XFL's Houston Roughnecks. Jones was named the offensive coordinator for the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons in 2023 before resigning in July of that year.",
  "summary": "Jones Jones spent years as an assistant coach and head coach in college football and the NFL.",
  "key_points": [
    "June Jones, former Hawaii and SMU head coach, dies at 73.",
    "Led Hawaii Warriors to 76-41 record, 12-0 regular season.",
    "Coached Atlanta Falcons 1994-1996 with 19-29 record."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}