In a day that already saw Ray Rice cut by the Baltimore Ravens and Penn State have its bowl eligibility restored, the SMU Mustangs received some shocking news of their own Monday afternoon when head coach June Jones announced that he would be stepping down due to personal reasons.
His resignation comes on the heels of a pair of blowout losses against Baylor and North Texas to start the season, during which the Mustangs have been outscored 88-6. Coming off a 5-7 season in 2013, SMU already faced an uphill battle to return to the postseason this season due to its inexperienced roster and brutal schedule, and the Mustangs didn’t look anything like a team that could compete for bowl eligibility in their first two games.
>June Jones: “I have some personal issues I have been dealing with and I need to take a step away” More to come: http://t.co/rhSzDOk3tK
— Bill Nichols (@BillNicholsDMN) September 8, 2014
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While SMU has struggled recently, Jones’ tenure started out as a great success. He took over a program in 2008 that had just one winning season since it received the “death penalty” in 1987, but quickly turned things around. After going 1-11 in his first season, Jones guided the Mustangs to four consecutive bowl games, with the 2009 Hawaii Bowl being their first postseason appearance since 1984.
Though one would think that producing such results would make him a folk hero on the Hilltop, Jones’ relationship with the fans and school administrators soured over the last couple years after he nearly left the team to become the new head coach at Arizona State following the conclusion of the 2011 season. At the time, Jones’ departure to take over the Sun Devils seemed like a done deal, only to have Arizona State pull the offer at the last minute.
Since this time, the team’s success has curbed and attendance at home games has dropped, with some fans even accusing Jones of becoming disinterested with his job. There was also complaints that he was spending too much time at his home in Hawaii and not enough time out on the recruiting trail. Whether or not these accusations are completely true, the writing seemed to be on the wall and it only seemed like a matter of time before Jones and the Mustangs would go their separate ways. However, nobody expected him to be gone just two weeks into the season, and now SMU will move forward without him.
Defensive coordinator Tom Mason has been named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, and he’ll be tasked with trying the navigate the Mustangs through the rest of their difficult schedule, starting with Texas A&M a week from Saturday. Whether or not Jones’ departure will serve as another blow to an already struggling team or as a way for the players to rally together remains to be seen, but Mason’s job will be far from easy.
Jones compiled a sub-.500 record of 36-43 in his six-plus seasons at SMU and though the end of his tenure was forgettable, what he was able to accomplish with the Mustangs was impressive, as Denver Broncos wide receiver and SMU alum Emmanuel Sanders noted in a series of tweets upon learning of Jones’ resignation.
Hate to see him leave this way. The ppl calling for his head seem to forget where the program was just 5 years ago.
— Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) September 8, 2014
Thank you @CoachJuneJones! One of the greatest offensive minds in football history. I'm forever grateful!
— Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) September 8, 2014
June Jones’ time at SMU might have ended poorly and some fans may never appreciate the good things he did for the program, but the Mustangs have a better foundation to build upon and are in a better place than they were when Jones arrived at the Hilltop in 2008.
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