House representative calls for investigation into Hawaii hiring process, June Jones' contract offer

Following the controversial departure of head football coach Todd Graham, Hawaii named former quarterback Timmy Chang as the Rainbow Warriors newest head coach — despite clamor that the university might bring back program legend June Jones for a second stint — causing public frustration that the university was unable to agree to terms with Jones.

Now, Hawaii’s hiring process is under fire, as state representative Bob McDermott has requested a special committee to investigate the hiring process — and subsequent inability to reach a deal — with Jones.

Jones even said he was interested in taking the Hawaii job for a second time, adding that it’s a “unique situation that I’ve done one time and I know I can do it again.” However, the university was unable to agree to terms with Jones. Hawaii extended an offer, and the university claims that the two parties were simply unable to reach an agreement; Jones, on the other hand, said that the deal sent his way was one that “no coach in their right mind” would accept.

McDermott, a house representative for Ewa Beach, sent a letter to representative Scott K. Saiki, the speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives, requesting further investigation into the rumored lowball offer.

“I am reaching out to request that you convene a special committee to investigate the recent hiring process that was used to select the UH Football Coach and more specifically the part of the process that involved June Jones,” he wrote. “It is a national embarrassment for our people of Hawaii. The taxpayers who pay all of our salaries deserve some clarity on this fouled-up situation.”

McDermott said that the decision will force Hawaii’s athletic department to be “drowning in red ink for years to come,” and he accused Hawaii athletic director David Matlin and president David Lassner of intentionally offering an abysmal contract to Jones so that he wouldn’t accept. Jones — despite leading Hawaii to the program’s highest peak, including a Sugar Bowl berth — was offered a two-year contract with assistant coaches requiring the athletic director’s approval before hiring. The poor offer, according to McDermott, is cause for President Lassner and Matlin to “tender their resignations.”

“The entire consideration process for June Jones was a farce so AD Matlin could ‘check the box’ to satisfy the public and move on,” McDermott alleges. “He never wanted nor intended to hire June Jones. June is a national figure whose stature in football literally and figuratively dwarfs the UH leadership. It is unacceptable if AD Matlin’s ego and fear of being overpowered by June Jones was permitted to drive this process.”

Jones coached at Hawaii for nine years from 1999 until his departure in 2007, amassing a 76-41 record, including a 4-2 record in bowl games. In his final season, Jones led the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors to unprecedented heights; the program ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP Poll that season, finishing as the No. 19 team in the top 25, and even made a Sugar Bowl appearance after finishing the regular season 12-1 (8-0 in WAC play). Graham, Hawaii’s last head coach, stepped down amid accusations of verbal abuse from current and former players, and when the Rainbow Warriors looked for a new leader to rebuild the program, the public vehemently expressed support for Jones.

Jones, AD Matlin provide dueling perspectives of offer sheet

Jones and Matlin provided vastly different public-facing recollections of the stale negotiations. Jones believes the offer was a lowball and impossible to accept, while Matlin simply brushed it off as the two parties being unable to reach any form of agreement.

“We met with coach Jones earlier today and, unfortunately, could not come to terms with an agreement for him to be our next head football coach,” Matlin said in a statement. “I understand there has been a lot of support for coach Jones this past week but he has declined our offer. At the end of the day we couldn’t agree on a succession plan that I felt was important for our student-athletes and supporters of Rainbow Warrior football.

“We are working tirelessly to get a head coach on board to lead our program and are fully aware of the sensitivity to national signing day on Feb. 2.”

Days after the statement was released, Hawaii instead hired Chang as the program’s next head coach.

Jones took to Twitter and told a much different story of the one-sided negotiation process, clarifying that he’d like to take the job — but under the current conditions of the contract, it was impossible to do so.

“So I would like to comment and give my thoughts on the Football Head Coaching job,” Jones said via Twitter. “I am still interested in this job for the people of Hawaii but the job offered to me today there is no way I could accept with the conditions offered to me… No coach in their right mind would accept!

“Dictating who can be on my staff and only 2 year contract,” Jones continued. “What recruit would come if I was here for 2 years?? This has never been about money-but it is about giving me the ability to turn our program around and not have people tell me who is on my staff…”

Todd Graham resigns from Hawaii after alarming accusations

Former head coach Todd Graham’s resignation is what led to the entire hiring process, as the program’s coach of two years was forced to resign with an 11-11 record after accusations of verbal abuse were made public.

The Hawaii Senate’s Ways and Means and Higher Education Committee called a meeting several weeks ago regarding the culture the head coach had built in the program. Several players came forward, speaking against Graham and his actions while at Hawaii.

Former Rainbow Warriors player Leonard Lee was removed from the team after speaking out earlier this year. He didn’t hold back when sharing his thoughts about his now-former coach.

“He’s hands down the worst guy I’ve ever met in my life,” Lee said.

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman also weighed in on the issue, citing conversations with other coaches. He shared a quote from one unnamed coach who backs up Lee’s claims.

“He’s a bad human being,” the unnamed coach told Feldman. “The truth is finally coming out on him.”

Graham released a statement as well when the news broke. He said he was “grateful” for the opportunity to be the head coach at Hawaii and has a “very heavy heart” stepping away from the program.